Trident missile reportedly failed when it was test-fired

[Tiger Awan]

Missile failure off Florida? British leader won't say

LONDON – The British government is being accused of concealing the failure of an unarmed ballistic missile launch ahead of a debate in Parliament over whether to refurbish the country's aging Trident nuclear launching system.

Britain's prime minister refused to say Sunday whether she knew about an unarmed Trident missile that reportedly failed when it was test-fired off the coast of Florida last year.

Theresa May told BBC she has total confidence in Britain's Trident nuclear launching system, but didn't confirm or deny a newspaper report about the alleged failure of a ballistic missile designed to carry nuclear warheads.

The prime minister was asked about the missile test after the Sunday Times reported that an unarmed missile launched from a submarine off Florida's coast in June veered off course and may have headed toward the U.S.

The newspaper said top government officials decided to keep the failure of a Trident II D5 ballistic missile out of the public eye because of an upcoming debate the next month in Parliament over whether to spend 40 billion pounds to refurbish the aging Trident, the cornerstone of Britain's nuclear deterrent system.

"I have absolute faith in our Trident missiles," May said Sunday when asked if she had known about a possible missile failure when she spoke to Parliament in July. "When I made that speech in the House of Commons, what we were talking about was whether or not we should renew our Trident, whether or not we should have Trident missiles."

The government triumphed in that debate, winning overwhelming support for the Trident overhaul in July, but some opposition figures in the British government now seek an inquiry into the reported missile failure and a possible cover-up.

Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon, who opposes having the Trident submarine fleet based in Scotland, said reports of a failure and cover-up are a "hugely serious issue."

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, also a Trident opponent, called it "a pretty catastrophic error."

The British government hasn't confirmed the newspaper's report of a misfire.

A government statement posted on a Defense Ministry blog indicated there was a "routine unarmed Trident missile test launch from HMS Vengeance" in June.

The Royal Navy launch was "part of an operation which is designed to certify the submarine and its crew," the statement said. The Vengeance submarine and its crew were "successfully tested and certified," it said.

The statement says the government does not provide further details on submarine operations for "obvious" national security reasons.

The British government's website says Trident has provided Britain's security every day for the last 46 years. The system consists of Vanguard-class submarines which can carry up to 16 Trident ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads.

Defense policy calls for one of the submarines to be on patrol at all times.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/22/missile-failure-off-florida-british-leader-wont-say.html

 

[Penguin]

In 2002, the United States Navy announced plans to extend the life of the submarines and the D5 missiles to the year 2040. This requires a D5 Life Extension Program (D5LEP), which is currently underway. The main aim is to replace obsolete components at minimal cost by using commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware; all the while maintaining the demonstrated performance of the existing Trident II missiles. In 2007, Lockheed Martin was awarded a total of $848 million in contracts to perform this and related work, which also includes upgrading the missiles' reentry systems. On the same day, Draper Labs was awarded $318 million for upgrade of the guidance system. Then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair was quoted as saying the issue would be fully debated in Parliament prior to a decision being taken. Blair outlined plans in Parliament on 4 December 2006, to build a new generation of submarines to carry existing Trident missiles, and join the D5LE project to refurbish them. It is called the Dreadnought-class submarine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trident_(missile)#D5_Life_Extension_Program
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnought-class_submarine

 

[Tiger Awan]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trident_(missile)#D5_Life_Extension_Program
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnought-class_submarine

Nothing is clear, but it does looks like the test was a failure. What is not clear is the type of failure, weapon integration or the guys who were operating the sub

Can be anything but I dont think there is a problem in missile as such, Its a tried and tested missile

 

[Penguin]

Nothing is clear, but it does looks like the test was a failure. What is not clear is the type of failure, weapon integration or the guys who were operating the sub

Can be anything but I dont think there is a problem in missile as such, Its a tried and tested missile

THere's a reason why you have tests ;-)

 

[Tiger Awan]

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/23/europe/trident-missile-failure-theresa-may/

US official confirms Trident missile failure

A missile test involving Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent system ended in failure off the coast of Florida last year, a US defense official with direct knowledge of the incident told CNN on Monday.

The official told CNN that the incident, which happened last June in an the area off the Florida coast used by the US and the UK for missile tests, did not in involve a nuclear warhead.

Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported that the missile veered towards the US coast, but the US official told CNN that this trajectory was part of an automatic self-destruct sequence. The official said the missile diverted into the ocean -- an automatic procedure when missile electronics detect an anomaly.

A month after the test, the UK parliament approved the renewal of Trident at a cost of £40 billion. Unaware of the failure, members of the House of Commons voted by 472 votes to 117 in favor of renewal.

On Sunday, British Prime Minister Theresa May was asked four times during an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr Show whether she knew of the missile failure before the vote. May refused to answer.