Royal Navy Vanguard class submarine comes home from another very long patrol
Showing signs of being at sea for a long period, a Vanguard class submarine arrived back home on the Clyde today.
Nuclear Deterrent
A credible deterrent? Trident missile fails during test launch from HMS Vanguard
As if the Royal Navy did not already have enough negative headlines to contend with, The Sun newspaper reports a Trident ballistic missile failed to launch during a recent test. Here we provide some context to this story.
HMS Vanguard finally sails from Devonport after refit lasting more than 7 years
HMS Vanguard, one of the four Trident submarines that maintain the UK’s nuclear deterrent, left Devonport yesterday after a very much delayed Long Overhaul Period and Refuel (LOP(R)).
More
Progress on the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought class submarine programme
The first of Britain’s new nuclear deterrent submarines, HMS Dreadnought has now been under construction for over 4 years. Although still relatively early days and available information is inevitably limited, some further details of the boat’s design and progress on this vast project have emerged since our first article on the subject in 2017.
More
In focus: HMS Scott, the Royal Navy’s ocean survey vessel
HMS Scott is the Royal Navy’s Ocean Survey vessel. Although the 5th largest ship in the RN fleet, she maintains a relatively low profile, spending long periods at sea on her primary duty, mapping the bottom of the world’s oceans. Here we look at the history, design and role of the ship.
More
Under Pressure – Book Review
£9.38 (Hardback) £9.99 (Kindle)
Another illuminating modern submarine memoir was published this year. Several recent books have documented the Cold War-era submarine service but this is the first to focus purely on the unique experience of serving onboard a deterrent boat.
More
Critical Royal Navy submarine refit running late
The oldest of the Royal Navy’s ballistic missile submarines, HMS Vanguard is currently in Devonport undergoing major refit and refuelling. There are strong indications the project is in trouble and she will be unable to return to service at the start of 2020 as originally scheduled, with knock-on effects for the 3 remaining boats that maintain the nuclear deterrent.
Deterrence theory and the Royal Navy
If there is one ubiquitous military strategy, it’s deterrence. Deterrence is usually spoken of in the context of nuclear weapons. It stirs up old Cold War images of the Cuban Missile Crisis and mutually assured destruction. Deterrence theory, however, is a well-established phenomenon within international relations theory that applies to all military action, not only nuclear weapons. For example, was the current situation in the Arabian Gulf caused by a failure to deter?
More
Trouble ahead for the UK nuclear programme?
Yesterday the Nuclear Information Service published their report “Trouble ahead risks and rising Costs in the UK nuclear weapons programme”. This is a brief response to some of the points and recommendations made in the report.