So much of our intelligence and military systems are shared or reliant on the US – if it becomes the enemy, it is already inside the gates, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
I’ve been asking this since Trump declared for Russia. UK has nukes, they lease the missiles from the US, and those missiles supposedly have a shelf life, but in a pinch, push comes to shove, they probably can be extended use for decades, also, France makes missiles that would carry British nuclear warheads, so there’s that. Donald Trump, Making The European Union Great Again
The subs are British and are commanded by Royal Navy Officers. They can launch autonomously as target sites autonomously as that’s the whole point of the UKs deterent, to operate after first strike has occurred and all friendly infrastructure / command structure has been destroyed.
A RN officer will not take orders from a US officer, so how is Trident sub or weapon under control of the US?
The “functionality is entirely reliant on the US”. I.e. in order for Trident to function we need missiles from the US to carry the atomic warheads and we need to spend money every few years to replace old and out of date missiles. If the US decided to stop selling us the missiles Trident would cease to function. Ergo they have outsized control over our nuclear deterrent.
I’ve been asking this since Trump declared for Russia. UK has nukes, they lease the missiles from the US, and those missiles supposedly have a shelf life, but in a pinch, push comes to shove, they probably can be extended use for decades, also, France makes missiles that would carry British nuclear warheads, so there’s that. Donald Trump, Making The European Union Great Again
Trident’s functionality is entirely reliant on the US.
Our nuclear deterrent is the US’s nuclear deterrent but it’s parked in Scotland to have access to Russia’s western front.
I don’t really understand this.
The subs are British and are commanded by Royal Navy Officers. They can launch autonomously as target sites autonomously as that’s the whole point of the UKs deterent, to operate after first strike has occurred and all friendly infrastructure / command structure has been destroyed.
A RN officer will not take orders from a US officer, so how is Trident sub or weapon under control of the US?
https://www.ft.com/content/762cd291-2a62-4e00-b69f-c60f9ee31a6e?sharetype=blocked
The “functionality is entirely reliant on the US”. I.e. in order for Trident to function we need missiles from the US to carry the atomic warheads and we need to spend money every few years to replace old and out of date missiles. If the US decided to stop selling us the missiles Trident would cease to function. Ergo they have outsized control over our nuclear deterrent.
Long term due to maintenance…sure
…but today we have all we need to launch a strike.