British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps stated today, Wednesday, that there are no repercussions on the UK's ability to launch nuclear weapons, even after a "mistake" occurred during a test of the deterrent system last month. In a written statement to Parliament, Shapps said, "There was a malfunction, but it is confined only to this incident, and therefore there are no repercussions on the reliability of the Trident missile system and its stockpile." He added, "There are no implications for our ability to launch our nuclear weapons should circumstances require it... the government has absolute confidence that the nuclear deterrent system remains effective, reliable, and robust."
The Sun reported on Wednesday that the British nuclear deterrent system, Trident, made an error during a test last month when a missile fell into the ocean near the submarine that launched it. The report stated that the first-stage boosters of the missile, equipped with dummy warheads, failed to ignite during a test conducted on January 30 off the coast of Florida. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that a malfunction occurred during the test. The ministry stated, "Due to national security considerations, we cannot provide further information on this matter, but we are confident that this malfunction is confined only to this incident, and therefore there are no repercussions on the reliability of the Trident missile system and its stockpile." It added, "The British nuclear deterrent system remains safe, sound, and effective." A previous test of the system in 2016 was also reported to have ended in failure, with reports indicating that the missile veered off course.
