Royal Navy fails nuclear ballistic missile test for second time. The propellers of the unarmed Trident missile would not have started, causing it to fall into the ocean, right next to the submarine.
The 58-ton missile would have been successfully propelled from the submarine HMS Vanguard, the lead unit of its class. An investigation was launched to understand the origin of this failure, and above all to recover from the seabed the debris of the missile, the technology of which is carefully protected. The UK's nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and effective.