The December 2016/January 2017 edition of Armada International will feature an article on the Royal Navy’s BAE Systems ‘Dreadnought’ class Nuclear-Powered Ballistic Missile Submarine (SSBN).
These new submarines will carry the British nuclear deterrent in the form of their Lockheed Martin UGM-133A Trident-D5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles. For many years, the mechanics of the British government launching its nuclear weapons in anger has been shrouded in secrecy. However, during the course of the research for Armada’s forthcoming article, the author discovered a radio documentary examining this subject in some detail.
In The Human Button, Professor Peter Hennesy, the Atlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary University in London, examines the process of how the British government would order such an attack. The documentary provides a rare glimpse into the shadowy world of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, and can be found here:
