Retiring Trident

Retiring Trident
22 See, e.g., “Russia makes latest high-risk move to keep pieces of its ‘near abroad’ in check”, Peter
Beaumont, The Observer, London, 2 March 2014.
23 CentreForum does not accept that ISIL is a state, and therefore abjures their favoured nomenclature
of “Islamic State”.
24 See, e.g., “Promoting Effective Competition in UK Defence Procurement: The Case of UK Maritime
Patrol - Interim Report”, Toby Fenwick, CentreForum, London, July 2014.
25 See “Nuclear Diplomacy and the Special Relationship: Britain’s Deterrent and America 1957 –
1962”, Ian Clark, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994, pages 77 – 93.
26 The first American warhead design passed to the UK was the W-28, which was anglicized as RED
SNOW, and was first used in the YELLOW SUN Mark 2 thermonuclear free-fall weapon. See “Nuclear
Diplomacy and the Special Relationship”, page 92.
27 “Message to the Congress -- Amendment Between the United States and the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, White House Press Office, Washington DC, 24 July 2014.
28 See “Amendment to the 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement (on nuclear weapons’ cooperation)”
British American Security Information Council (BASIC), June 2004.
29 NPT Article I states that, “Each nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to transfer
to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control over
such weapons or explosive devices directly, or indirectly; and not in any way to assist, encourage,
or induce any non-nuclear-weapon State to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons
or other nuclear explosive devices, or control over such weapons or explosive devices.” As both
the UK and the US are recognised by the NPT as nuclear-weapons states, the NPT’s additional
limitations on design and manufacturing assistance to non-nuclear-weapon states do not apply to
the MDA, allowing the transfer of non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons.
30 “Budget 2014”, Table D4: Total Managed Expenditure, page 109.
31 CentreForum analysis of HM Treasury Budget 2014.
32 “The Financial Context for the 2015 SDSR: The End of UK Exceptionalism?”, Malcolm Chalmers,
RUSI, London, September 2014.
33 “The Financial Context for the 2015 SDSR”, page 4.
34 “The Financial Context for the 2015 SDSR”, page 6.
35 Public Sector Gross Investment (PSGI) rises from £37.4bn in 2014-15 to £39.1bn in 2019-20. “Budget
2014”, Table D4: Total Managed Expenditure, page 109.
36 “Dropping the Bomb”, pages 48 – 49. 2032 assumes that there will be four SSBNs procured and
“late 2020s” covers the Liberal Democrat position of two or three SSBNs being procured. Notably,
as most of the cost in the early years is for design and engineering, the limited construction savings
from procuring less than four SSBNs accrue at the end of the programme.
37 Formally, the Trident II D5 Life Extension (LE) missile will serve until 2042. However, Trident II D5LE
Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM) are expected to serve beyond 2050.
38 Sir Nick Harvey MP, speaking in the Trident Debate of 20 January 2015. See HC Deb 20 Jan 2015,
column 119.
39 “After years of military cuts, can Britain still defend itself?”, Con Coughlin, Daily Telegraph, 2 February
2015.
40 “Television: From Burkina Faso with rockets to Upper Volta without”, Steve Crashaw, Independent,
15 November 1998.
41 Transcribed from image of the “National Policy Forum”. Any errors are solely the author’s responsibility.
42 Transcribed from image of the “National Policy Forum”. Any errors are solely the author’s responsibility.
43 “Ed Miliband hints he may back replacing Trident with cheaper system”, Matthew Holehouse, Daily
Telegraph, London, 5 January 2015.
44 The number of SSBNs the Liberal Democrats are proposing to procure remains unclear at the time
of writing.
45 See “Lib Dem activists back calls for fewer Trident submarines”, BBC News, 17 September 2013.
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