A Trident missile is to be fired from a British submarine for the first time in eight years, according to reports this week.
Media including The Telegraph, Sun and Daily Mail have reported that a warning was issued to shipping that a test would be carried out as HMS Vanguard arrived in the Atlantic.
The test, which will involve a dummy warhead, would be carried out by Sunday, around 90km off Florida’s east coast, with a range of 5,900km.
It is thought to be the last test before the submarine, based at Faslane, returns to service after a major refit.
The Royal Navy’s nuclear deterrent fleet has been stretched during the refit – in September Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden went aboard a Vanguard-class submarine to praise the crew after what is thought to have been the longest-ever patrol by a Trident-armed vessel.
The MoD refused to confirm that the sub had been on patrol for up to ten months – rather than three months as usual – and that crew members had each been paid £25,000 compensation.
The four Vanguard-class submarines have been in service since the 1990s and are due to be replaced by the Dreadnought class in in the early 2030s.
A Royal Navy spokesperson said. “The Royal Navy do not routinely comment on submarine operations.”
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