§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if the requirement to test fire the United Kingdom's Trident D5 missiles will be significantly less than that for the Polaris missiles;
(2) if the proportion of spare Trident missiles compared to the overall United Kingdom Trident missile buy will be significantly different from that of the United Kingdom's Polaris missile purchase.
§ Mr. AitkenThere will be no spare Trident missiles. All will be deployed operationally, test fired or form part of a processing margin. The proportion of missiles in the second and third categories is expected to be significantly less than for Polaris.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the Trident submarines will be capable of deploying a sub-strategic nuclear capability upon entering operational service.
§ Mr. AitkenTrident will be able to contribute to our sub-strategic capability on entering service.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if Her Majesty's Government can deploy the Trident system as an effective minimum nuclear deterrent with the number of Trident D5 missiles that have already been purchased from the United States; and whether there is a continuing requirement to purchase further Trident D5 missiles from the United States.
§ Mr. AitkenThe United Kingdom's Trident strategic nuclear deterrent is not yet ready for operational730W deployment. As previously announced, further Trident D5 missiles are planned to be purchased from the United States in due course to meet the overall requirements of the Trident programme.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral statement of 18 October,Official Report, columnns 34–25, if it is Her Majesty's Government's policy to deploy only Trident D5 missiles in the nuclear role when the WE177 eventually leaves service; and what are the implications of the decision for (a) the number of Trident D5 missiles required and (b) the overall number of nuclear warheads deployed by the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. AitkenOn current plans, the Trident D5 missile will be the only United Kingdom nuclear system after the WE177 is eventually withdrawn for service. My right hon. and learned Friend's announcement on 18 October does not alter our previous commitment that each Trident submarine will carry no more than 128 warheads. It is not our practice to comment on future plans for the purchase of missiles.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to place the order for the next batch of Trident D5 missiles from the United States.
§ Mr. AitkenIt is not our practice to reveal our future missile procurement plans.