How much of an issue will plans to replace the UK's Trident nuclear weapons be during the next general election campaign? Although the election is not scheduled to take place until 2015, the battlelines for the Trident debate are already being drawn.
Dreadnought latest news
The Dreadnought submarines are planned to replace the current fleet of Vanguard submarines in the early 2030s. They will carry nuclear-armed Trident missiles and be powered by a PWR3 nuclear reactor.
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Trident Initial Gate – here at last!
Word cloud showing the frequency of words in the Ministry of Defence Initial Gate report.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox has announced that approval has been given to go ahead with the detailed design phase of development of new submarines planned to replace the current Vanguard class vessels which carry the UK's Trident nuclear weapons.
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NIS Update: March 2011
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.
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NIS Update: February 2011
AWE BURGHFIELD PLANNING APPLICATION RESUBMITTED
The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) has submitted a planning application to West Berkshire Council to extend the time limit for construction of a new conventional manufacturing rationalisation (CMR) facility at AWE Burghfield.
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Watch out for stealth spending on Trident replacement
Greenpeace UK and CND have been doing some sterling work to establish how much money will be spent on the Trident replacement programme before Parliament decides whether to give the final go-ahead for the programme after the next general election.
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The decision on whether to replace Trident can’t be put off indefinitely
I went up to London on Tuesday for a lecture at SOAS, where Dr Robert Gallucci, President of the MacArthur Foundation, was speaking on 'Assessing the Nuclear Threat' alongside Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman from Kings College London. The talk majored on the need to prevent terrorist groups from being able to develop a nuclear weapon, but the subject of Trident replacement came up, and whether the UK government's plans to replace Trident were helpful or unhelpful in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
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NIS Update: January 2011
TRIDENT LONG LEAD COSTS MAY PRE-EMPT POST-ELECTION DECISION
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NIS Update: December 2010
PARLIAMENT CLOSES FOR 2010 WITHOUT ANNOUNCEMENT ON TRIDENT INITIAL GATE
Parliament closed for the 2010 Christmas break with no sign of an announcement from the Government on the 'Initial Gate' decision for the Trident replacement programme.
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Delay to Trident replacement programme and cuts in nuclear warhead numbers announced in Strategic Defence and Security Review
- Defence spending to fall by 8% in real terms.
- Life of current Trident submarines to be extended.
- Stockpile of operational nuclear weapons to be reduced from less than 160 to less than 120.
- No cuts to troop numbers in Afghanistan.
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NIS Update: September 2010
AWE 'HYDRUS' PLANNING APPLICATION SCHEDULED FOR 29 SEPTEMBER HEARING
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NIS Update: August – September 2010
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Osborne: no extra cash for Trident
How the 'Sun' portrayed the dispute between Liam Fox and George Osborne