Even if there was a “anomaly” during the drill off the coast of Florida, the Ministry of Defence maintained that the nuclear deterrent “remains safe, secure, and effective”.
Tuesday night’s practice featuring HMS Vanguard was found to have involved a “anomaly” by the Ministry of Defence, however a spokesman maintained that the nuclear deterrent, which is the cornerstone of the UK’s defense.
The fact that it was a test launch may have contributed to the error; according to a source, the launch would have succeeded if it had been executed with a nuclear weapon in the real world.
The drama began on January 30 and was initially reported by The Sun tabloid, which claimed that Defence Secretary Grant Shapps was on board the submerged submarine at the time.
For the Royal Navy’s aging nuclear weapons fleet, it is the second consecutive failure of a Trident missile, following an issue with another test-firing in 2016.
