As of: February 29, 2024, 5:25 a.m
By: Bettina Menzel
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Launch of a Trident II ballistic missile. The British Navy's test of the nuclear-capable missile has failed.
© picture alliance/dpa/PA Media |
Lockheed Martin
It is the second failed missile test of Great Britain's nuclear deterrent system in a row: another Trident missile fell into the sea.
Florida – Great Britain recently tested its nuclear-capable Trident missile system off the US coast of Florida.
However, an “anomaly” occurred during the missile test on January 30th, as British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps admitted on February 21st.
The missile reportedly fell into the sea not far from the submarine that fired it.
Nevertheless, people in London said they had “absolute trust” in the deterrent system.
Meanwhile, there was a hail of ridicule in the Russian media.
British missile test failed but 'no impact on reliability'
The Trident missiles have a range of 6,500 kilometers and are fired from underwater submarines.
When the weapons reach the surface, the boosters are scheduled to ignite.
This is exactly why the rocket test at the end of January apparently failed.
The first stage boosters did not ignite, the British newspaper
The Sun
reported last week.
The rocket, which is essentially capable of nuclear weapons, was only equipped with a dummy explosive during the exercise.
It was the second failed launch in a row, according to the
Reuters
news agency .
The last test took place in 2016, when the rocket went off course.
The Tridents are usually fired from Vanguard-class submarines.
British Defense Secretary Shapps was on board HMS Vanguard during the exercise.
The missile was launched from the submarine underwater, but "plopped right next to it," an anonymous source told
the
Sun.
The submarine was not damaged.
The “anomaly” was “event-specific” and there was “no impact on the reliability of the Trident missile systems,” Shapps explained about the incident.
In the 2030s, London wants to replace the Vanguard submarines with the larger Dreadnought-class ships.
Mocking Russia's failed missile test: "No one hurt, except for the reputation of the Royal Navy"
The incident came at a time of great tension between the NATO defense alliance and Russia.
The British Defense Secretary emphasized that the Trident missile system remains “the most reliable weapon system in the world.”
It has successfully completed more than 190 tests.
“There is also no impact on our ability to fire our nuclear weapons should the circumstances arise in which we need to do so,” Shapps said, according to
Reuters
.
The opposition Labor Party, however, classified the incident as “worrying”.
Britain once had the largest and most powerful naval force in the world.
The British missile test was also followed with interest in Russia.
After the failure, there was no shortage of ridicule: the news program on state broadcaster
Rossiya 1
said: “No one was hurt, except the reputation of the Royal Navy.”
In another comment, presenter Olga Skabeyeva teased that "an attempt by the Royal Navy of the former Great Britain - now we call it Little Britain - to demonstrate its power has failed." There were similar headlines in China.
The Global Times
newspaper headlined
: “Embarrassing!
The Royal Navy's Trident II nuclear submarine's missile fails for the second time in a row," the BBC reported.
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But people in the West were also critical.
The failed test launch “raises questions about the state of Britain’s nuclear deterrent capability,” said the
New York Times
.
The failed Trident test was not the only British military problem of late.
The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth had problems with its engines during the largest NATO exercise at the end of the Cold War
(bme with material from the AFP).