Polaris Missiles (Hansard, 18 March 1993)

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what dates United Kingdom Polaris missiles have been test fired since May 1987.

§ Mr. Aitken
There have been no United Kingdom Polaris missile test firings since May 1987.

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's assessment of the ability of Russian intelligence-gathering satellites to identify the number of missiles that are carried on the United Kingdom's Polaris submarines.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
Russia operates a number of satellites with an intelligence-gathering capability. We are confident however, that these cannot identify the number of missiles carried by Polaris submarines.

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to increase the number of warheads deployed on the Polaris fleet during the remainder of its operational life.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
It has been the practice of successive Governments not to specify publicly the number of nuclear warheads deployed on our ballistic missile submarines.

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the United Kingdom's Polaris Missiles have been test fired since the missiles were purchased from the United States of America.

§ Mr. Aitken
There have been 42 such test firings.