28/07/2010
UKNDA News Release

Reducing Trident Deterrent Force Would Undermine Britain's Defence, say Campaigners.

Scaling back Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent force could pose a serious threat to the nation's defence capability, according to the UK National Defence Association (UKNDA).

Responding to the proposal in a report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) that Britain should cut back from four Trident submarines (SSBNs) to three, the UKNDA's Chief Executive, Cdr John Muxworthy RN, said:

"To be effective any deterrent must be certain and constant, not intermittent and therefore unreliable. Repeated studies and long experience have led the Royal Navy and successive governments to conclude that, in order to ensure absolute certainty of availability, at least four SSBNs are required. 

"Last year one of our four Trident submarines was put out of action by a 'freak' accident when a French SSBN accidentally bumped into it, while both were operating underwater on their separate patrols. For the next year this accident reduced our available force to three, barely able (and not for long) to maintain the essential constant presence. 

"To rely on just three submarines would be to court uncertainty because, as last year's incident illustrates, accidents can and do happen - and a constant presence of the deterrent could not be maintained with any degree of certainty. If nuclear deterrence remains a vital cornerstone of Britain's defences, as we in UKNDA believe it should, then it is vital for us to have an effective deterrent force, and this means a minimum of four SSBNs. 

"Either we continue with a nuclear deterrent - in which case we should 'do it properly' - or give it up entirely. There are some politicians who believe in the latter option. But what those who advocate abandoning Trident are in effect saying is that they can foresee every strategic threat to this country for decades ahead and that they do not believe Trident would be of any use in any of these circumstances. This is a huge gamble that no responsible government should take.

"Be certain, be sure. Keep the deterrent and ensure that we have sufficient submarines. Compromising on defence will, sooner or later, cost money - and lives."

-Ends

Media contacts: Cdr John Muxworthy, e-mail ceo@uknda.org, tel 01264 860693, or Andy Smith, e-mail pro@uknda.org, tel 07737 271676.

Notes to Editors:

The United Kingdom National Defence Association (UKNDA) was formed in 2007 to campaign in support of Britain's Armed Forces.

Tri-Service and politically independent, the UKNDA aims to ensure that Britain's fighting men and women are properly trained, equipped, sustained and cared for. The Association's founder-President, Winston S. Churchill, the former MP and war correspondent (and grandson of Britain's WWII Prime Minister), died on March 2, 2010.

For more information on the UKNDA, go to www.uknda.org