§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the statement on the defence estimates, page 38,(a) if HMS Vanguard is deployed with significantly fewer than 96 warheads, (b) under what circumstances Trident submarines may deploy with significantly fewer than 96 warheads and (c) if his Department will seek to publicly announce any future decision to deploy significantly fewer than 96 warheads per submarine. [23994]
§ Mr. SoamesWe will deploy on Trident submarines only the minimum nuclear capability, within our declared ceiling of 96 warheads, which we judge necessary to provide an effective deterrent. It is not our practice to release details of the number of warheads actually carried.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Dr. Spink), on 2 May,Official Report, column 164, (a) when his Department first revealed that the Trident warhead has a lower yield than that of Polaris (b) to what extent the yield of the Trident warhead is smaller than the Polaris warhead and (c) if the yield of the Chevaline warhead is smaller than that of the Polaris warhead. [23993]
§ Mr. SoamesThe first explicit comparison of the yield of Trident and Polaris or Chevaline warheads was made in the answer to which the hon. Member refers. The yield of the Chevaline warhead is much the same as that of the Polaris warhead. It is not our practice to comment in more detail on the yield of nuclear warheads.