Thursday, November 19, 2009

Deterrent Cannot Be Guaranteed With Three Subs, Says U.S. Navy Chief

A Royal Navy Trident nuclear submarine. Photograph: Corbis

From Times Online:

The Royal Navy will only be able to “guarantee” continuous deterrent patrols with Trident ballistic-missile submarines if the Government agrees to keep four boats, the head of the Royal Navy told The Times yesterday.

It would be possible to get by with three submarines, provided the Government was prepared to risk breaking the 24-hour, 365-day patrol cycle that had been maintained for 41 years. Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope said that Gordon Brown had posed a perfectly legitimate question when, in planning for Trident’s replacement, he asked the Navy to study whether the nuclear deterrent patrols could be fulfilled with three boats.

Read more ....

My Comment: I can sympathize with the Admiral. He is trying his best to educate his political masters on what it takes to maintain a submarine fleet .... but they are not listening.

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