Defence written question – answered at on 16 January 2007.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence
(1) what assessment he has made of the factors enabling United States Ohio-class Trident submarines to have longer in-service lives than United Kingdom Vanguard submarines; and what lessons can be drawn from them for the benefit of the future nuclear deterrent;
(2) what assessment he has made of (a) whether Vanguard submarines have typically operated (i) at a higher level of intensity and (ii) for longer periods at sea than United States Ohio-class Trident submarines and (b) the effect of those factors upon the differential in-service lives of those submarines.
holding answer
I refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 1-4, 5-6 and 6-5 of the White Paper, 'The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent' (Cm 6994), published on
When detailed concept work begins on a new class of SSBNs, we will take into account relevant lessons from the submarine-building experience of other countries, including the United States, as we would normally do on a programme of this kind.
Yes0 people think so
No2 people think not
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