What is Trident? Britain's nuclear deterrent explained
What is Trident?
Trident is Britain's nuclear weapons deterrent. It consists of four
Vanguard-class submarines which can carry up to 16 Trident II D5 ballistic missiles, each armed with up to eight nuclear warheads.
At any time, one submarine is on patrol, one is undergoing maintenance, one is preparing for patrol and one has just come off patrol and is recovering.
Britain has had a Continuous At Sea Deterrence (CASD) since 1969. Trident is currently referred to (in defence speak) as Operation Relentless and is based in the Faslane area of Scotland.
How powerful is Trident?
No one knows exactly, but most nuclear weapons are approximately seven times more powerful than the atomic bomb which was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945.
Trident's ballistic missiles can hit a target up to 7,500 miles away and travel at speeds of more than 13,000 miles an hour.
What do we know about the submarines?
The UK's Vanguard-class submarines are called HMS Vanguard, HMS Vengeance, HMS Victorious and HMS Vigilant. They are huge - measuring more than twice the size of two Boeing 747s. Each contains a nuclear reactor which boils sea water and the steam is used to power them through the water.
The patrols are so secretive that only four among the crew of 135 know what route the submarine will take, on voyages lasting months.
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The Royal Navy’s four Vanguard Class nuclear-powered submarines carry Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent.
Length: 492 ft
Displacement: 15,900 tonnes
Crew: 132
Top speed: 25 knots
In service: 1993 to present
Armament: Spearfish torpedoes and up to 16 Trident II D5 nuclear missiles
Power: Rolls Royce PWR2 nuclear reactor
Boats: HMS Vanguard, HMS Vengeance, HMS Victorious, HMS Vigilant
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/21/what-is-trident-britains-nuclear-deterrent-explained/
So, every Submarine has 16 Ballistic missiles each with 8 nuclear warheads, that makes it a total of 16 x 8 x 4 = 128 x 4 = 512 nuclear warheads.. and that is just the naval branch!!! imagine the rest, meaning the army and the airforce..
So in many ways Britain is still a major military power after the US, Russia and China, since it can also project its power mainly through the sea..
PS: Note that this 512 nuclear warheads alone exceeds the 400 figure that the UK announces as its nuclear arsenal !!!