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Written question asked by Mike Hancock (Independent (affiliation)) on Wednesday, 11 March 2015, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 March 2015. It was answered by Philip Dunne (Conservative) on Thursday, 19 March 2015 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Trident Missiles

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Trident missiles were capable of being deployed on 11 March 2015.

Answer

The UK’s Trident missiles are provided from a shared pool at the US Navy's Strategic Weapons Facility at Kings Bay, Georgia. The US undertakes maintenance of the missiles while they are pooled, at which time they are not allocated to either nation.

Under the Polaris Sales Agreement (amended for Trident) the UK pays the US Department of Defense an annual contribution towards the overall cost of the Strategic Weapons Facility. This contribution, which includes maintenance work, is based on the UK's share of the overall missile inventory, and historically has amounted to around £12 million a year.

There is no separate missile refurbishment program. However, in order to minimise the risk of obsolescence, the US is undertaking the Trident Life Extension program. MOD expenditure for this program (at outturn prices) for the last three years is:

Financial year

£ million

2011-12

2.9

2012-13

16.2

2013-14

21.9

We do not comment on operational matters for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
227192
Session
2014-15
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Trident missiles
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk