Britain's Trident nuclear missile test fails for the second time in a row
Trident nuclear missiles deployed on UK submarines
In a major embarrassment to the UK Royal Navy, a Trident nuclear missile misfired and crashed into the ocean near the submarine that launched it, last month. The test firingwas conducted offthe coast of Florida and it was the second consecutive time a Trident nuclear missile had failed.
On Tuesday (Feb 20), the Ministry of Defence seemingly confirmed the failed testsaying an "anomaly" occurred during the firing of the'Trident 2' ballistic missile.
Notably, Defence SecretaryGrant Shapps andFirst Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key were on board HMS Vanguard when the nuclear missile failed to get going.
According to reports, the crew responsible for the launch in the nuclear sub completed the doomsday drill perfectly before the Trident 2 missilewas propelled into the air by compressed gas in the launch tube. However, its first-stage boosters failed to ignite and the 58-tonne missile – fitted with dummy warheads – splashed into the ocean and sank.
According to a source, quoted as saying by The Sun, the missile left the submarine but "just went plop", right next to the vessel.
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Statement by the government
The MoD looked at the silver lining after the failure and said "we are confident that the anomaly was event specific, and therefore there are no implications for the reliability of the wider Trident missile systems and stockpile".
The Tory ministers are expected to make a statement about what happened during the launch to the House of Commons on Wednesday (Feb 21).
Notably, it is the second time that a Trident missile launch has failed after a similar misfire was reported during the 2016 test. At the time, HMS Vengeance was used to fire the missile but moments after the launch, the Trident missile veered off course and automatically self-destructed.
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Afterwards, the then-Theresa May government was accused of covering up the failed launch as parliament was due to vote on renewing the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
The failure of the missile launch comes at a time when a recent report stated that UK armed forces were overstretched and that in a peer-to-peer conflict, they would exhaust their capabilities in a "couple of months".
(With inputs from agencies)