The United Kingdom and the Future of Nuclear Weapons by Futter Andrew;Freedman Sir Lawrence;

Author:Futter, Andrew;Freedman, Sir Lawrence;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

The UK share of the current contract for the CMC is twelve of the seventeen tubes and $59 million of the $83.8 million contract.[32] British and American Trident missiles are stored in a common pool in King’s Bay, Georgia, of which fifty-eight are titled to the United Kingdom and carry the British version of the W76 warhead. In addition, collaboration in testing has not ceased, with joint subcritical tests, as permitted under the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), in 2002 and 2006 (see chapter 12).[33]

The special relationship is robust because both parties work to constantly balance it. Any damaging events, such as Suez, were quickly counterbalanced elsewhere in the relationship. This raises concerns when considering Trident replacement—how could London compensate for changes to its nuclear deterrent in symbolic and real terms, and would these be politically feasible? Any major changes to British nuclear posture would not necessarily undermine the special relationship all else being equal: cooperation in intelligence, for instance, would continue, and assumedly the United States would manage to drum up resources for the development of the Trident missile compartment without the British contribution. The broader special relationship would remain rooted in common values and a common language, and history suggests the special relationship is strong enough to endure such shifts. But history also suggests that all else does not remain equal, and pressures that would prompt a major change in British nuclear posture would have the potential to weaken the special relationship with the United States. Therefore, it is important to put the Trident debate in the appropriate context.

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