§ Ms. Ruddockasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has considered equipping the Trident submarines with C4 and D5 warheads should the INF talks be concluded successfully.
§ Mr. Ian StewartThe decision made on 11 March 1982, announced at columns 975–7, to purchase the Trident D5 missile rather than the C4 missile remains the basis of the United Kingdom Trident programme and is unrelated to the progress of current negotiations on INF.
§ Ms. Ruddockasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the yield of Trident warheads is intended to be greater than that of the modernised Chevaline warheads.
§ Mr. SainsburyIt has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on the yield of British nuclear warheads. However, as the essay "The Minimum Deterrent" which appears on pages 39 to 42 of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1987" makes clear, Trident, when introduced into service, will represent no more than a minimum deterrent.