Trident??

Monday 08 January 07

Trident?

Trident is probably a word you have hear quite a bit over the past few days, in this ‘issue’ what exactly Trident is will be outlined, why it has suddenly become big news will be explained and the reactions of politicians, clergy men and average Joe on the street will be explored.

So firstly, what on Earth is Trident?

• Trident is a submarine launched ballistic missile system that pretty much makes up the UK's nuclear deterrent. First obtained by the Royal Navy in 1994, it has an estimated lifespan of 30 years meaning the current missiles will be past their sell-by date in 2024.
• Each missile has a range of more than 4,600 miles (7,400km) meaning a missile launched from Scotland (where the submarines are based) could reach as far away as Venezuela. Their destructive power is estimated to be the equivalent of 8 Hiroshimas.
• The UK has 16 Trident missiles on each of its 4 submarines and another 70 can be accessed from a facility in America.
• Each missile is designed to carry up to 12 nuclear warheads, but the Royal Navy have limited this to 3.
• Each missile costs approximately £16.8 million.
• The Trident missiles and submarines are based in Faslane, Scotland

So, these missiles have been in action since 1994, why now then are they becoming such big news?

The issue at the moment relates to the lifespan of the missiles. As we have already discovered the lifespan of these missiles runs out in 2024. Making the news now is what Tony Blair is suggesting should take their place.

The Prime Minister has suggested that a new set of submarines be built to carry more Trident missiles, the amount of missiles he suggests will be cut by 20% but the UK will still remain a state with a substantial amount of weapons of mass destruction. This is a term we have all heard before! We all know what happened to Iraq when they claimed to have weapons of mass destruction…Britain and the US invaded and the war still continues with the loss of many innocent Iraqi lives every day.

Why then is it fair that the UK can ask other countries to disarm their nuclear weapons whilst preparing themselves to build some more? This is a view held by Co-chairman of Nuclear Free Local Authorities Bill Risby who said, “This is a nation that only a short while ago began a terrible war against Iraq because, we were wrongly advised, that they were developing weapons of mass destruction; a nation that expresses concern about the development of nuclear weapons by North Korea and the possibility of Iran doing the same. Such a nation should not continue replacing or modernising its own nuclear arsenal. Even our own Prime Minister admits there is no recognisable potential nuclear enemy.”

This is the big debate – to stay nuclear or disarm?

There are many conflicting sides to this argument, many in Tony Blair’s own party are against the idea and want to disarm the UK of nuclear weapons to set an example for other nations globally.

David Cameron, the supposedly environmentally conscious leader of the Conservative Party, supports the idea.

 The Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell wants the decision to be postponed until 2014.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien said the system prevented peace rather than protecting it.

The leader of the Anglican Church in Wales, Archbishop Barry Morgan, insisted in September that the money spent on it could instead save 16,000 children from dying from preventable diseases every day.

So what’s your opinion? Log on to the Forum section of this website to make your voice heard!

Or to sign a petition or statement of support for the ‘Make Trident History’ Campaign, email us at info@wimps.org.uk