Politicians are debating updating the UK's ageing Trident weapons system, but security and money pressures make renewal wrong, says Dr Philip Webber, SGR

Article in New Scientist, 28 May 2015
 

Expect an awful lot of debate over the future of the UK's controversial submarine-based Trident nuclear weapons system in the coming months.

Of immediate interest are claims from a whistleblowing crew member about security lapses and the risk of losing a submarine in a fire or an accident involving its nuclear reactor or even one of the missiles.

The Scottish National Party, which made big gains in Scotland in recent elections and is hostile to nuclear weapons, secured a debate in the UK parliament today on the allegations. The party's interest is unsurprising, given that all four Trident-carrying submarines are based in Scotland. Each can be equipped with 40 warheads – together packing 320 times more destructive power than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

The full article can be downloaded from the New Scientist website