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Britain
Are British armed forces the laughing stock of the world? Grant Shapps 'must face MPs to explain' how Trident nuclear missile humiliatingly MISFIRED from Royal Navy sub during test and 'ditched into the ocean'
2024-02-21
[DM] Defence Secretary Grant Shapps is under pressure to explain a humiliating Trident nuclear missile test failure that saw the multi-million-pound weapons system go 'plop' in the ocean.

The Royal Navy has confirmed 'an anomaly' occurred during an exercise involving HMS Vanguard off the Florida coast last month - when the Defence Secretary was aboard the ballistic missile submarine. The US-made Trident 2 - with a dummy warhead - successfully 'left the submarine', but its first stage boosters did not ignite and the 58-ton missile sack next to the vessel, The Sun reported.

The incident marks the second failed launch in a row after a Trident missile launched from sister sub HMS Vengeance misfired during a test in 2016.

It is the latest embarrassment for the UK's Armed Forces, which have been plagued by equipment failures and manpower problems for years.

Earlier this month the Royal Navy flagship, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth pulled out of a Nato exercise due to a faulty propeller shaft. It followed similar problems with her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales two years ago, and previous engine problems which saw many of the Type 45 Daring Class destroyers stuck in harbour.

There are also ongoing concerns over manpower shortages affecting the Royal Navy and the British Army.

Shadow defence secretary John Healey said: 'Reports of a Trident test failure are concerning. The Defence Secretary will want to reassure Parliament that this test has no impact on the effectiveness of the UK’s deterrent operations.'

But Lord West, the former First Sea Lord, told MailOnline that while the test failure was 'bloody embarrassing' the problem that caused it would not affect a real launch.

'We don’t need to go overboard, the system still works perfectly. It is bloody embarrassing, let's face it,' he said.

'Every single bit on the submarine worked perfectly, thank goodness. We have just had a seven-year refit which was ridiculously long. That is good news because it shows that these old submarines, when refitted can still do the business.

'The problem has not affected the operation capability of Trident at all, it is related totally to the test firing.'

Officials said they could not say any more because the incident relates to national security. But they said there remained 'absolute confidence' in Britain's constant at-sea nuclear deterrent and that it continues to be 'secure and effective'.
HMS Vanguard carried out the doomsday drill off the coast of Florida on January 30.

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key was also present at the time to mark what was the final exercise for Vanguard and its crew after undergoing a refit that took more than seven years, an MoD spokesman said.

The Trident missile was expected to travel some 3,500 miles before splashing harmlessly into the Atlantic between West Africa and Brazil. But instead it landed next to the submarine. The Sun reported that a dummy Trident 2 missile was propelled into the air by compressed gas in its launch tube, but that its so-called first stage boosters did not ignite. HMS Vanguard was under the surface and hovering at launch depth during the test, but was not hit as the 44ft missile plunged into the water.

BRITAIN'S MILITARY CRISIS
The trident test failure is the latest humiliation to hit the UK Armed Forces, with service chiefs and ministers facing major questions over Britain's ability to fight a major conflict.

AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
Earlier this month the Royal Navy flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth was pulled out of a Nato exercise due to a faulty propeller shaft. She was due to set sail from Portsmouth to help lead the western military alliance's biggest exercise since the Cold War. But the £3.5billion, 65,000-ton ship was pulled out at the 11th hour after rust was discovered on the affected part – leaving it at risk of it breaking down at sea. The Queen Elizabeth's sister carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, took its place. But it also faced similar problems, breaking down near the Isle of Wight after setting sail for America just 18 months ago – also due to a faulty propeller shaft. There was also an embarrassment in 2021 when an F35 jet fell off the end of QE during an aborted take-off.

DESTROYERS
In 2016 it was revealed Britain's cutting-edge £1billion air defence warships broke down in the Persian Gulf because they were not designed for the heat. The six 8,000-ton Daring Class Type 45 Destroyers were built with engines which kept cutting out in the middle of the warm sea, leaving servicemen stranded for hours in total darkness. They underwent expensive refits which solved the problem, but in the intervening period they spent a lot of time tied up in Portsmouth. Two of the cutting-edge warships, HMS Dauntless and HMS Defender, did not go to sea at all during 2017 – which was hailed by officials and ministers as 'the year of the Navy'.

SOLDIERS
Last month the outgoing head of the British Army said a ‘citizens army’ might be needed in future because of cuts to full-time strength.‘General Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing Chief of the General Staff, said even that would be 'not enough' as he pointed to allies in eastern and northern Europe 'laying the foundations for national mobilisation'. In a speech today, the general - who has been openly critical of staff shortages in the military - said boosting Army numbers in preparation for a potential conflict would need to be a 'whole-of-nation undertaking'. But Downing Street later hit back at the suggestion, insisting there were no plans for conscription.

SAILORS
Last month it was reported that a drastic shortage of sailors had forced the Royal Navy to decommission two of its warships early. Frigates HMS Westminster and HMS Argyll were allegedly retired so their crews could transfer to the service's new Type 26 ships. The news came as UK sailors were sent to the Red Sea to protect merchant vessels from Houthi rebels. The retirement of HMS Westminster would be controversial as it underwent expensive repairs in 2017 and only recently returned to service.

AJAX
A disastrous defence procurement programme has seen just 44 of an ordered 589 armoured fighting vehicles delivered to the MoD - a decade after bosses signed the £5.5bn contract. Over £4bn has so far been spent on the ill-fated Ajax project - 70 per cent of the contract cost - but just seven per cent of the vehicles have been accepted by the Army. The Mail has revealed a litany of errors with the 38-tonne machines, being built by defence contractor General Dynamics, with trials paused three years ago after troops suffered hearing loss due to excess noise and vibration. The machines also struggled to fire on the move and left troops feeling sick. Hundreds of personnel required medical assessment after taking part in trials of the vehicle, which was due to enter service in 2020.
Posted by:Skidmark

#16  58-ton missile sack next to the vessel, The Sun reported.


Don't know DM. Having an issue launching rockets is a thing, but we have Admiral Tits-on-a-Bull every day and you have constant spelling and grammar errors.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2024-02-21 17:37  

#15  Actually, its a learning moment for everyone. A lot of missiles aimed among all of us are not going to make launch, trajectory, or land on target. No one knows for sure how many. It's a test no one really wants attempted.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2024-02-21 17:06  

#14  The First Sea Lord and the Defense Secretary were onboard for the test firing. In the relatively small spaces the Most Important figures in the Royal Navy Chain of Command were packed=in to enjoy the show. Imagine the pucker-factor and its echelons of flow downward to the folks who had to do some of the grunt work to make sure all the safety features associated with the launch were handled. I have no idea about how complex the sequencing is for such a complex system, but the ooops factor has to be a consideration.
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2024-02-21 12:45  

#13  So, I guess they forgot arm the booster stage on the Trident? And they forgot that 304 stainless rusts and they intended to use 316 for the prop shafts but the intern goofed?
Posted by: KBK   2024-02-21 11:27  

#12  
#11 Recovery operations are underway, just like when a F-35 slid off the deck of an, um, British warship.
Posted by: M. Murcek 2024-02-21 10:13

MM,

Wasn't the -35's (AKA 'Fat Amy', AKA 'Battle Penguin', AKA 'Dave') fault - deck crew forgot to pull an inlet cover, and the aviator didn't catch it when he did his walkaround, and the launch crew didn't see it.

Put the spurs to it, ate the inlet cover, and that was all she wrote.

Mike
Posted by: MikeKozlowski   2024-02-21 10:34  

#11  Recovery operations are underway, just like when a F-35 slid off the deck of an, um, British warship.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2024-02-21 10:13  

#10  If it was the bird, we'd expect the US Navy, which fires far more of these as test items, would have seen a similar failure. 2 consecutive failed launches from Royal Navy boats - what's the common denominator?

It's worth noting, the first test failed because the missile went off course after successful launch. This time the missile was ejected but didn't fire.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2024-02-21 10:11  

#9  Sounds more like a problem for Lockheed than the RN. Lockheed built 'em.
Posted by: ed in texas   2024-02-21 10:06  

#8  More likely, the Brits insist on making mods for the sake of mods instead of just copying what already works.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2024-02-21 10:05  

#7  Wonder if moisture's getting into the missile's tube.
Posted by: Silentbrick   2024-02-21 10:03  

#6  irish rage boy, a test has only two end states, fail or pass. That is the purpose of a test.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839   2024-02-21 09:40  

#5  failed. test. two incompatible words.
Posted by: irish rage boy   2024-02-21 09:27  

#4  Laughing stock, yes. But right behind the Germans.
Posted by: Ebbuger Whuque4103   2024-02-21 08:16  

#3  Second consecutive time a British attempt to launch a Trident has failed. Overall, 191 Tridents have been launched successfully. More details here.
Posted by: M. Murcek    2024-02-21 07:55  

#2  ...LITTLE KNOWN TRIVIA: The United States Navy maintains the Royal Navy's Trident missiles. Saves money dontcha know; and keeps those icky rockets out of the UK.

Now - there could be a few reasons why that first stage didn't ignite, and you betcha they're going to find them. This was embarrassing to both parties here, and it'll be resolved.

Mike
Posted by: MikeKozlowski   2024-02-21 07:50  

#1  
Question: Were they buying IC's made in China, like a aircraft manufacturer may have bought door bolts?
Posted by: NN2N1   2024-02-21 07:29  

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