§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in the Trident testing programme.
§ 92. Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in the Trident testing programme.
§ 100. Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in the Trident testing programme.
§ Mr. SainsburyA series of 19 firings from a land-based launch pad was completed in January. 15 were complete successes, and one a partial success. The first test firing from a submarine on 21 March was terminated four seconds into the flight by the missile's self-destruct mechanism. The United States investigation into the cause of the failure has identified the need for modifications to the first stage thrust control system. It is planned to trial these modifications during the next submarine-launched test flight towards the end of July.