Trident (Hansard, 16 December 1993)

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Her Majesty's Government have purchased any Trident missiles to replace those used by the United States for testing.
899W

§ Mr. Hanley
No.

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) Polaris and (b) Trident submarines are assumed to be operational at any one time in calculating the level of operational explosive firepower of Britain's nuclear forces and their subsequent reduction.

§ Mr. Hanley
The anticipated reduction of more than 25 per cent. in the explosive power of the United Kingdom's operational nuclear inventory when Trident is fully in service compared with 1990 is based on the overall number of United Kingdom nuclear weapons—excluding any awaiting final breakdown—irrespective of how many may be deployed at any one time on submarines.

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the transfer of Britain's sub-strategic nuclear capability to the Trident fleet requires any modification to the Trident missile purchase arrangements.

§ Mr. Hanley
No.

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the funds allocated for the purchase of Trident missiles is spent on administration surcharges.

§ Mr. Hanley
Three per cent.

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the total number of Trident missiles being purchased by the United Kingdom are to be used in test firing.

§ Mr. Hanley
On current plans, about 20 per cent. of the total number of United Kingdom's Trident missiles will be test fired.