Britain should reconsider its long-standing belief in continuous at-sea deterrence when replacing its nuclear-armed submarine fleet, a senior minister said in comments published Tuesday.
Chief Secretary of the Treasury Danny Alexander warned defence chiefs in an interview with the Guardian that the perilous state of Britain’s public finances meant that a “like-for-like” replacement of the country’s Trident fleet might be impossible.
“Given all the financial pressures across the whole of the public sector, all the things the government has to do and wants to pay for, and all the pressures in different areas, I just think the idea that somehow, out of thin air, we can carve a multibillion pocket to pay for this, that is not financially realistic,” he said.
Continuous at-sea deterrence is the running of at least one nuclear-armed submarine that is submerged and undetected at any given time.
But the system has faced criticism from disarmament campaigners who question its use in a post-Cold War world.
Alexander, who is in charge of the Cabinet Office-led Trident Alternatives Review, said Britain’s naval strategy was outdated and needed to be reassessed.
“Is it right in the 21st century that we still need to have submarines at sea, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 12 months of the year? All those things are ripe for being reviewed and considered,” said the Liberal Democrat minister.
He highlighted “credible and compelling alternatives” to continuous at-sea deterrence, warning that the government did not have “a magic pot of money” to fund the next generation of “Successor” vessels.
“We are in a position where the costs of the Successor have to be paid for from within the Ministry of Defence budget,” he said in an interview published on the newspaper’s website.
“There is no magic pot of money that is going to be created out of thin air to go on top of that. As a government, we have been very clear about that.”
The minister’s comments could cause further ructions within the coalition government, whose senior partner, the Conservative party, is generally more supportive of a stronger military.
Alexander said he was unable to suggest alternatives due to security concerns, but reported plans include the nuclear-arming of Britain’s current fleet of Astute submarines or restricting the number of Successor submarines to two or three, rather than four.
Experts believe it could cost over £100 billion ($158 billion, 119 billion euros) to replace the Trident fleet, which is due to be decommissioned in the 2020s, and a final decision will be made in 2016.
British minister urges rethink over nuclear sub fleet
