SAFETY REPORT REVEALS WIDESPREAD SAFETY FLAWS AT CLYDE SUBMARINE BASE
Significant safety shortfalls continue to dog the Clyde submarine base, where the UK's nuclear weapons and submarines are based, according to a Ministry of Defence (MoD) safety report released to the Sunday Herald newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act.
Recently revealed information on visits to the United States of America by staff from the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) has shed a little more light on the nature of US – UK co-operation on nuclear weapons programmes.
US-UK CO-OPERATION ON WARHEAD FUSE DESIGN PAVES THE WAY TOWARDS A NEW BRITISH WARHEAD
UK nuclear weapon scientists are co-operating with colleagues in the USA to develop upgrades to a US nuclear warhead design, according to budget documents prepared by the US Department of Energy.
Abolition 2000 brought together campaigners and analysts from both sides of the Channel this weekend at a seminar to discuss the implications of the new UK – France Defence and Security Co-operation Treaty. The Treaty commits the two nations to co-operation over defence and security issues for the next 50 years, with a separate agreement to develop joint facilities for nuclear weapons physics research.
As well as revealing the precarious state of nuclear safety at the Ministry of Defence, the recently released series of annual safety reports has also revealed some interesting insights into the UK's Trident nuclear warhead programme.
Our new video blog shows an interview with Andreas Persbo, Executive Director of VERTIC, about the ground-breaking UK – Norway Initiative on disarmament verification. The UK – Norway Initiative has brought researchers from the two nations together to investigate the science of verification of the dismantling of nuclear warheads, and VERTIC has acted as the independent non-government observer for the programme.
MOCK WEAPONS INSPECTION TO TAKE PLACE AT AWE
A mock weapons inspection will take place at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in December as part of the latest phase of the UK – Norway Initiative.
The aim of the exercise will be to test confidence building measures during an inspection so that international inspectors can be allowed access to sensitive sites without endangering nuclear secrets.
Under the terms of a new treaty Britain and France intend to collaborate on nuclear warhead technology for the next 50 years. The agreement, announced by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, commits the two nations to undertake a joint programme of co-operation on nuclear weapon technology at a new hydrodynamics research facility at Valduc in France and a joint Technology Development Centre at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates – sceptical about Trident replacement
The Guardian has reported that the French government has offered to create a joint UK-French nuclear deterrent by sharing submarine patrols with the Royal Navy.
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