Latest news with #Dreadnought-class
Spectator
6 days ago
- Business
- Spectator
Is Britain ‘battle-ready'?
Today the government has published the long-awaited strategic defence review. The brief was to take a new look at some of the challenges to the UK in 2025, and what is needed to ensure our security and reset our defence priorities. We are still waiting for some of the detail, but so far we know: £15 billion for new warheads to be carried by the new Dreadnought-class submarines; a dozen new SSN-Aukus attack submarines; £1.5 billion to build at least six munitions' factories; £6 billion to procure munitions over the remainder of this parliament; and £1 billion for digital capability and a new CyberEM Command. Where is all that money coming from? Most of the squabbling today has been over the commitment to 3 per cent of GDP on defence spending. Labour have so far only gone as far as to say that's an 'ambition'. But are Labour being ambitious enough? Is the UK still a global player when it comes to defence if we can't commit to 3 per cent? Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Emma Salisbury, research fellow at the Council on Geostrategy. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Keir Starmer promises to build warships in Scotland in boost ‘for generations'
The Prime Minister is due to visit Glasgow on Monday 'BUILDING THE FUTURE' Keir Starmer promises to build warships in Scotland in boost 'for generations' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LABOUR will secure Scots shipbuilding's future 'for generations to come', the PM will announce on Monday. We can reveal Sir Keir Starmer will commit the UK Government to constructing warships here. 4 Sir Keir Starmer has promised to build warships in Scotland Credit: Alamy 4 The Prime Minister said his plans will boost jobs and investment along the River Clyde Credit: Alamy 4 Sir Keir Starmer said, 'Scotland is the beating heart of the UK's shipbuilding industry' Credit: AP The 'always on' supply line will boost jobs and investment along the Clyde. The Labour leader will visit Glasgow on Monday with Defence Secretary John Healey to outline plans to spend three per cent of GDP on defence within a decade as part of a strategic review. He promised Scotland would see a 'defence dividend' from the major increase in investment in the Armed Forces. On Sunday, Sir Keir said: 'Scotland is the beating heart of the United Kingdom's shipbuilding industry. 'For over a century, workers on the Clyde and Rosyth have been the backbone of Britain's maritime strength. 'Scottish shipbuilding backs thousands of secure, well-paid jobs. "But people aren't just building ships, they're building the future strength of the Royal Navy and national security.' He added: 'Through the Strategic Defence Review, our UK Labour government is backing the Scottish shipbuilding industry for generations to come. "Scotland will see a defence dividend from our record investment.' The SDR also commits the MoD to 'create conditions for sustained innovation and industrial support to the Navy'. Douglas Ross kicked out of FMQs for rowdy behaviour The UK Government has already committed £41billion to build four Dreadnought-class nuclear subs — with Faslane expected to maintain them. Last week, the first Type 31 frigate was unveiled at Babcock's yard at Rosyth in Fife. And the first Type 26 frigate, HMS Glasgow, was named by the Princess of Wales at BAE Systems' Scotstoun yard in Glasgow last month. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: 'We are yet to see the detail of the Spending Review, but given Scotland's significant naval shipbuilding expertise, we would expect that any future contracts will provide a substantial contribution to our economy. 'Historically SMEs in Scotland receive one of the lowest proportions of defence spending in the UK (under two per cent compared to almost 13 per cent in the North East). "It is vital the UK Government follows through on its commitment to reform defence procurement so that more Scottish SMEs can successfully bid for defence contracts. 'We are committed to ensuring Scotland is the home of manufacturing innovation, but our long-standing position is that we do not use public money to support the manufacture of munitions.'
Telegraph
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
We're about to enter a terrifying new era of nuclear proliferation
Britain is modernising its nuclear arsenal. John Healey, the Defence Secretary, warned that Britain's nuclear weapons have the power to inflict 'untold damage' to any adversary that dares to attack it. Sir Keir Starmer simultaneously declared that Russia respects Britain's nuclear deterrent and praised Britain's transition from Vanguard-class to upgraded Dreadnought-class nuclear-capable submarines. Britain's nuclear build-up was wholly expected. In April 2024, the Prime Minister declared that his commitment to Britain's nuclear deterrent was 'unshakeable' and 'absolute'. Sir Keir also insisted that he would be prepared to use nuclear weapons if Britain was under attack. Yet it is also indicative of a broader trend that reflects an increasingly insecure world order and waning confidence in U.S. security guarantees: a new nuclear arms race. Poland is pushing for the transfer of U.S. nuclear weapons to its territory. If that cannot be achieved, Poland wants to be protected by the French nuclear umbrella. Incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz wants the British and French nuclear arsenals to protect Germany. Since Donald Trump's return to the White House, South Korean foreign minister Cho Tae-Yul has reignited discussions about building a domestic nuclear deterrent. The onrush of countries pursuing nuclear deterrents can be explained by three factors. The first is the enduring impact of Ukraine's historical experience. When Ukraine achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, it possessed the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Fearing potential economic blowback from the U.S. and its allies, Ukraine ceded its nuclear weapons in exchange for the 1994 Budapest Memorandum's security guarantees. Although Russia was a signatory to the Budapest Memorandum, it still proceeded to invade Ukraine in 2014 and 2022. Would Ukraine's retention of a nuclear arsenal have prevented Russia's aggression? On the one hand, it is important to emphasise that Ukraine never exercised sovereign control over its nuclear arsenal. Ukraine also did not have escalation dominance over Russia in the nuclear sphere. When I interviewed Ukraine's first president Leonid Kravchuk in 2017, he emphasized that Russia had clusters of nuclear weapons in Nizhny Novgorod that would have overwhelmed Ukraine's capabilities. On the other hand, it is conceivable that the U.S. could have greenlit Ukraine's autonomy over its nuclear arsenal in the event of Russian aggression and thwarted a full-scale invasion. The latter argument has much more sway in Kyiv. At the Munich security conference in February 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky expressed frustration about the insecurity that followed its unilateral nuclear disarmament. Now that Mr Trump has taken Nato membership and Article 5 security guarantees off the table, Mr Zelensky views a Ukrainian nuclear arsenal as the next best thing. Poland's nuclear umbrella aspirations align with this thinking. The second factor is the collapse of the post-Cold War international arms control regime. Starting with Russia's contraventions and the U.S.'s 2019 withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, arms control treaties have lost their enforcement capacity. China resisted U.S. pleas to participate in new strategic arms reduction treaty (Start) negotiations to contain its nuclear arsenal and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine torpedoed new Start inspections. Russia's incendiary wartime rhetoric has normalised the use of nuclear threats as a tool of deterrence. The third is the growing nuclear ambitions of the Russia-China-Iran-North Korea authoritarian axis. Although Russia's nuclear modernisation drive has been hampered by technological shortfalls and sanctions-induced delays, China intends to have 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030. North Korea has announced breakthroughs in nuclear-powered submarine development. Iran's inexorable pursuit of the nuclear bomb could lead to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt pursuing similar deterrents. While many countries might fear sanctions if they independently develop nuclear deterrents, they could circumvent this risk by enriching uranium to just under the threshold needed to produce a nuclear bomb. Germany and South Korea already possess much of the technological know-how needed to achieve this goal. This trend would set off an arms race spiral that will be hard to contain. It is also a potent reminder of how the erosion of U.S. security guarantees is making the world less secure.
LBCI
20-03-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
UK PM Starmer showcases nuclear deterrent before military planning talks on Ukraine
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was pictured aboard a submarine in a rare showcasing of the country's nuclear deterrent on the day international military planners meet in London to discuss a peacekeeping force to support Ukraine. Starmer secretly visited the nuclear submarine earlier this week, but his Downing Street office only released footage from his visit on Thursday. On Thursday, he will visit a nuclear submarine facility in northwest England to formally mark the beginning of the construction of a new Dreadnought-class submarine, which will eventually replace the Vanguard-class submarines. Reuters
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Keir Starmer welcomes decrepit nuclear submarine to Scotland 'after record patrol'
KEIR Starmer welcomed a decrepit-looking nuclear submarine as it surfaced in Scotland after what is reported to be a record-breaking time at sea, amid growing concerns about the safety of the Trident programme. The Prime Minister posted a video of him and Defence Secretary John Healey at Faslane welcoming the crew back to land – after they were said to have spent 204 days at sea. That amounts to nearly seven months on patrol which, according to the specialist news site Navy Lookout, would be a record length of time to have been at sea. The site questioned whether the crew would have been adequately equipped to spend such a long time underwater, given that a previous shorter patrol saw submariners on near-starvation rations. (Image: Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street) The Sun reported last year that crew on a Vanguard-class submarine which was on patrol for more than six months had been reduced to hunting for leftover food, divvying up sweets and crisps – with medics fearing 'serious loss of life' as a result of hunger-induced fatigue. Restocking at sea would mean coming up for air, according to Navy Lookout, which would defeat the aim of nuclear patrols operating 'undetected'. There are growing concerns about the state of Britain's nuclear fleet, which insiders have said is falling apart at the seams. READ MORE: Dominic Cummings, former top aide to Boris Johnson, has said that the Trident programme is 'f***ed' and claimed that the extent of its pressure on the wider military budget was kept highly classified to avoid MPs thinking about it'. Efforts are underway to build new nuclear submarines, which will be the new Dreadnought-class of submarines replacing the four Vanguard-class vessels which have been operating since 1992. After months of silent service, Royal Navy submariners running a nuclear deterrent patrol have returned to UK waters. It was an honour to join them on board, and to meet their loved ones. Thank you for your service to our country — welcome home. — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 20, 2025 The old vessels were only intended to be in service for 25 years, meaning the newest of the lot should have retired last year and the oldest in 2018. The new Dreadnought-class submarines are intended to enter service in the 'early 2030s', according to the Ministry of Defence and will have a lifespan of 'at least 30 years'. There are also concerns about whether the Vanguard-class submarines are even capable of firing nuclear missiles – after two high-profile failures in early 2024. The Ministry of Defence was approached for comment.
