Errors during maintenance work resulted in a breach in the primary containment of the reactor compartment for HMS Vengeance, one of the submarines that carry the Royal Navy's Trident nuclear weapons, during refit work last year at Devonport dockyard.
UK Warhead latest news
-
-
NIS presentation on UK – France nuclear weapons co-operation at 2013 NPT PrepCom
Download the presentation about nuclear weapons co-operation between Britain and France given by NIS Director Peter Burt at a fringe meeting during the Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee meeting for 2013.
-
Scottish Government calls for talks on Trident
The Scottish Government has called for talks on removing Trident from Scotland ahead of next year's independence referendum.
-
Scottish Affairs Committee reports on Trident and Scottish independence
Scottish independence could result in nuclear disarmament being imposed upon the United Kingdom for an indeterminate period, according to a report published by the UK Parliament's Scottish Affairs Committee.
-
Sixty years of British nuclear weapons
Find out about our interactive timeline showing the history of Britain's nuclear weapons programme.
-
Nukewatch: Warhead convoy monitoring indicates that UK has commenced decommissioning warheads
The Ministry of Defence has commenced work to meet a government commitment to reduce the overall size of the UK's nuclear warhead stockpile according to the Nukewatch network, which monitors the movements of warhead convoys.
-
West Berkshire Council to hear Atomic Weapons planning application
West Berkshire Council will make a decision on Wednesday 8 February on whether to grant planning permission for construction of a new Technology Development Centre at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston.
-
£2 billion and rising: the cost of redeveloping the Atomic Weapons Establishment
The Ministry of Defence has pledged at least £2 billion of spending on new developments at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), according to new information released in response to a Parliamentary Question from Caroline Lucas MP.
-
NIS Update: June – July 2010
REDUCTION IN UK NUCLEAR WARHEAD NUMBERS BEGINS
The Ministry of Defence has announced that the programme for implementing reductions in the number of UK nuclear warheads outlined in last year's Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) has now commenced.
-
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.
-
Convoy monitoring shows UK warhead programme is operating at a baseline level
The annual summary of UK nuclear warhead convoy movements published by Nukewatch for 2010 shows that the UK's nuclear warhead programme is currently operating a baseline level, with a minimum number of warhead movements taking place over the year. The number of movements is consistent with the maintenance and surveillance needs of the programme. As well as convoy movements carrying nuclear weapons, a number of training exercises and vehicle familiarisation journeys also took place in 2010.
-
Modifications, upgrades, and new warheads
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.