Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:40:55-1:41:18

Britain operates Trident, not Polaris

A replacement question starts from the wrong missile generation: Britain's deterrent uses Trident, whose missiles were then being reconditioned and remained serviceable.

Ballistic Missile SubmarinesNuclear DeterrencePolaris MissileRoyal NavyTrident Missile
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Question

Does Britain need to replace Trident because Polaris missiles are becoming obsolete?

Short answer

Britain uses Trident, not Polaris, and the reconditioned missiles remained adequate at the time of the discussion.

Notes

The replacement question begins from the wrong missile generation. Britain operates Trident rather than Polaris, and the missiles were being reconditioned and remained adequate for the moment. Immediate missile replacement was therefore separate from the force-structure problem. The larger question was how many submarines Britain needed to operate the deterrent safely.