Latest news with #nucleardeterrent
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
UK to build new attack submarines and ramp up ‘war-fighting readiness' with an eye on Russia, Starmer says
Britain will build new attack submarines, invest billions on nuclear warheads and move towards 'war-fighting readiness,' Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday, as he braces for a landmark report into the state of the country's military. Starmer's government said it would build 'up to' 12 new attack submarines as part of its AUKUS partnership with the United States and Australia, replacing the country's current class of seven subs from the late 2030s. And he will launch a 'historic renewal' of the UK's nuclear deterrent backed by a £15 billion ($20.3 bn) investment, Starmer said in a speech in Scotland on Monday. The announcements come as a long-awaited review into Britain's armed services is published Monday. Experts have been calling for a modernization of Britain's armed services for decades, cries that have grown in volume since Russia's invasion of Ukraine three years ago. 'When we are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, the most effective way to deter them is to be ready, and frankly, to show them that we're ready to deliver peace through strength,' Starmer said Monday. But Starmer refused to set out the timeline for his pledge that Britain's overall defense spending would hit 3% of the UK's gross domestic product (GDP). The uplift, announced earlier this year, is set to be reached by the end of the next parliament in 2034, but is dependent on economic conditions. And the prime minister did not set out where the money to pay for the new weaponry will come from; he previously announced cuts to the UK's aid budget to fund the uplift in defense spending, and he declined to rule out similar moves on Monday. The fiscal promise from the UK falls short of defense spending promises from some NATO countries, whose spending has been closely scrutinized by US President Donald Trump. NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte said last month he 'assumed' NATO members will agree on a defense spending target of 5% at June's NATO summit, a significant increase from the 2% benchmark, which was agreed to in 2014. Per 2024 NATO data, only Poland's defense expenditure was above 4% of GDP, although Latvia and Estonia had promised increases to 5%, with Italy promising a hike to between 3.5 and 5% of GDP. The US' defense expenditure sat at 3.38% of GDP in 2024, making up some 64% of total NATO expenditure. Russia's invasion of Ukraine – and the subsequent pressure from Trump's administration on European nations to boost their own military capabilities – has sparked a race among Europe's key military powers to boost their readiness and counter the Russian threat should the White House pull its support for Kyiv. The UK 'cannot ignore the threat that Russia poses,' Starmer told the BBC on Monday. 'Russia has shown in recent weeks that it's not serious about peace, and we have to be ready.' Starmer said Monday he intended to turn the UK into a 'battle-ready, armour-clad nation with the strongest alliances, and the most advanced capabilities, equipped for the decades to come.' Alongside the promised submarines, Starmer said that a 'hybrid Royal Navy' will patrol the North Atlantic — a key transit route for Russian submarines to reach the eastern US seaboard — signalling a move to more drone-based naval capabilities. The review, commissioned by his government and led by former NATO chief George Robertson, is expected to highlight a number of emerging threats, such as drone warfare, in which Britain is falling behind. Given decades of shrinking investment in the British military, questions have been raised over the deterrence that Britain's conventional and nuclear weapons offer, particularly given its reliance on a US supply the last eight years, the UK has publicly acknowledged two failed nuclear missile tests, one of them in the waters off Florida, when dummy missiles didn't fire as intended.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Starmer savages SNP's call to scrap Trident
Sir Keir Starmer has savaged the SNP's calls for Britain to unilaterally scrap its nuclear deterrent amid the war in Ukraine and the growing threat from hostile states. The Prime Minister said Trident, based at Faslane on the Clyde, was the 'single most important' part of the UK's defence and had kept the country safe for decades. Speaking as he launched the Government's Strategic Defence Review in Scotland, Sir Keir said his 'absolutely paramount' priority was the 'security and safety' of its citizens. He contrasted his stance with the SNP's demands that the UK scraps the nuclear deterrent 'at this time of renewed threat and instability.' For decades, the SNP has supported unilaterally scrapping Trident, despite polls showing that Scots overwhelmingly support its retention. A recent survey showed 56 per cent backed the deterrent, with 22 per cent opposed. Ian Blackford, the SNP's former Westminster leader, has also said the party should support a multilateral approach to disarmament, in which the UK would only reduce its nuclear stockpile if other countries, such as Russia, did the same. In 2022, Svitlana Zalishchuk, an adviser to Ukraine's deputy prime minister, said the Russian invasion of the country 'wouldn't have started' if it had not given up its nuclear weapons in the 1990s. But John Swinney, the Scottish First Minister, has recently doubled down on the SNP's demand, arguing that 'nuclear weapons have not managed to stop the conflict we are wrestling with in Ukraine'. A Scottish Government blueprint, published last year, claimed that an independent Scotland could remove Trident from Faslane as soon as possible, while also joining Nato. This is despite Nato being a nuclear-tipped alliance and Trident forming part of its 'supreme guarantee' of members' security. Era of 'renewed threat and instability' Sir Keir launched the defence review at BAE Systems Govan shipyard in Glasgow against the backdrop of the HMS Belfast and HMS Birmingham, two Type 26 frigates the yard is building for the Royal Navy. The Prime Minister said: 'I think that security and safety of everyone in Scotland is paramount, absolutely paramount. 'I can't imagine anybody who seriously wants to be prime minister of this country coming to Scotland and saying that the first priority is not the safety and security of Scotland. Consider the consequences of somebody as prime minister saying that.' He added: 'Remind ourselves that at this time of renewed threat and instability across Europe, the SNP 's position is to get rid of our nuclear deterrent, the single most important part of our capability that has kept Scotland and the United Kingdom safe for many, many years.'
Fox News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
US tests launch of nuclear-capable ICBM Minuteman III in show of force
Print Close By Stephen Sorace Published May 22, 2025 The U.S. Air Force conducted a routine launch of an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead on Wednesday morning, the military said. The LGM-30G Minuteman III missile was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time, the Air Force said. The unarmed missile, equipped with a single Mark-21 High Fidelity Re-Entry Vehicle, traveled 15,000 mph to a test range near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, located about 4,200 miles from the launch site, the military said. "This ICBM test launch underscores the strength of the nation's nuclear deterrent and the readiness of the ICBM leg of the triad," Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, said in a statement. TRUMP UNVEILS 'GOLDEN DOME' MISSILE SHIELD, BLINDSIDES KEY SENATORS The "triad" refers to the three different types of nuclear weapons delivery systems that the U.S. military can use to launch nuclear attacks. The systems are land-based ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and nuclear-capable strategic bombers. The Air Force said the test was routine and "not a response to current world events," adding that more than 300 similar tests have been conducted in the past. IRAN'S KHAMENEI SAYS AMERICANS SHOULD AVOID TALKING 'NONSENSE' IN NUKE TALKS "This test launch is part of routine and periodic activities designed to demonstrate that the United States' nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure, reliable and effective in deterring 21st-century threats and reassuring our allies," the Air Force said. The Minuteman weapon system is a program that first became operational in the early 1970s, and has received enhancements over the course of nearly 60 years, the military said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Air Force now plans to replace the aging Minuteman with the modernized Sentinel system. Print Close URL
