David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s timetable is for the renewal of Trident.

Michael Fallon

The key elements of the UK Trident nuclear deterrent are the Vanguard-class submarines, the Trident D5 missile and the UK warhead. As set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we expect the first Successor submarine to enter service in the early 2030s. A replacement warhead is not required until the late 2030s, possibly later. Given lead times, however, a decision on replacing the current warhead may be required later in this Parliament or early in the next. While we have no plans to replace the current Trident D5 missile, we are participating with our US partners in a programme to extend its current life to the 2060s.