According to a Prior Information Notice published on 15 August 2024, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has unveiled a £3.3 million Nuclear Deterrence Fund to ‘enhance research and expertise in nuclear deterrence’.
This is designed to address the “growing and diversifying set of threats” facing the UK, including those posed by major nuclear-armed states, emerging nuclear powers, and state-sponsored nuclear terrorism.
The fund, set to run from October 2024 to March 2027, aims to promote “innovative, high quality and impactful research in nuclear deterrence aligned with [His Majesty’s Government] priorities” and to enhance the generation and application of evidence in addressing UK nuclear deterrence policy challenges.
Additionally, the MoD intends to support a “more equal, diverse and inclusive nuclear deterrence research workforce” through this programme.
Researchers and institutions are invited to submit proposals under two pathways: the Knowledge Accelerator Pathway, which caters to short-term projects and early- to mid-career researchers, and the Advanced Pathway, which supports longer-term, multi-year research initiatives.
The fund is expected to cover a broad range of funding requirements, typically ranging from £1,000 to £125,000 per project, with consortium bids assessed individually.
The fund seeks to support the following objectives:
- Promote innovative, high quality and impactful research in nuclear deterrence aligned with HMG priorities.
- Improve and sustain the generation and use of evidence to address UK nuclear deterrence policy challenges and effectively embed research within deterrence policymaking.
- Support institutions to attract, develop, and retain early- and mid-career researchers within the UK.
- Support the formation of a more equal, diverse and inclusive nuclear deterrence research workforce.
- Establish enduring and sustainable structures of engagement and knowledge exchange between nuclear deterrence researchers and policymakers.
To take part, interested parties must register on the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP), where they will undergo due diligence before becoming eligible to submit their proposals.
The MoD make clear int he notice that this fund is part of a broader commitment to strengthening the UK’s deterrence capabilities and ensuring the nation is prepared for future security challenges.
The MoD also outlined its objective to “establish enduring and sustainable structures of engagement and knowledge exchange between nuclear deterrence researchers and policymakers,” ensuring that research outcomes are effectively integrated into policy-making.
Sounds like a slush fund for the over-paid.
What a waste of money. So long as a Vanguard boat is continuously at sea, any potential nuclear armed adversary is deterred. The money would be better spent on drones, or NLAW
So, in light of Russia’s use of missiles against Ukraine is HMG considering the need for 2nd tier nuclear or non-nuclear deterrent? A hypersonic version of ASMP perhaps.
“Support the formation of a more equal, diverse and inclusive nuclear deterrence research workforce.”
So the nuclear deterrent just became subject to all the woke **** that goes on in the rest of Whitehall. That bodes well.
My thoughts as well, Quite depressing really.
So a Push for DEI in nuclear defence …. No concerns at all.
So… the government have been conned into setting up yet another account, into which schemers, shysters, pseudo academics can dip, to top up their ‘research’ funds.
One, two, three and back in the room… COBRA has access to past and current research and studies, into every kind of issue, that any government would/could/might or will, ever face.
I don’t think the government have been conned into anything. It another lot of 💩 from our socialist masters.
This is just bollxxxs 😎
Wtf more is there to know? Hide a sub with lots of boom sticks so you can incinerate any aggressor. Nothing has changed since the 1960s!!!
Not where I would be spending money.
Long winded Labour gobblygook, presumably to fund one of their mates in CND or some such. 😠
This will have been started pre election. Absolutely no way they developed this in the two weeks between election and summer recess.
Easy for them I would have thought. Rachel Thieves has been handing out over a billion a day since three days after the election.
£3.3 million will achieve nothing. Money down the drain.
Ramping up again after the Cold War. It was noticible at the beginning of the Ukraine crisis that there was no new research on deterrence since the 1980s.
Theory says we need to spend more money to deter China and Russia, so what the government really wants is a new theory. Or failing that, a kick-the-can-down-the-road initiative.
Yes, a cold eyed look at what might work in a multi-polar world, taking into account the proliferation of nuclear weapons technology in the Middle East and Asia.
Maybe they thinking more about where there other nuclear threats are coming from so diversity is appropriate here. We need to understand mindset of others.
I’m no military expert, but if I was in charge of the military, I would invest in smaller submarines with only torpedoes fitted. If you’ve got a few nuclear subs, then it means only one or two are at sea at any one time. If you have 15-20 smaller subs, the enemy will spending it’s time chasing it’s tail and it will increase the chances of sinking enemy ships easier. The Germans in WW2 called it ‘The Wolf Pack’.
We have 6 SSNs, hunter-killer subs, in addition to our 4 ballistic missile submarines.
The Astutes, our SSNs, have only torpedo tubes but can launch both torpedoes and land attack missiles.
Having so few does mean that we can’t really have more than 2 SSNs at sea at once without planning for it far in advance.
There is an argument for buying a further fleet of
cheap conventional diesel-electric submarines to flesh out the numbers, but these are less strategically useful than SSNs because they have to move between theatres on the surface and so the enemy can predict their location. With a nuclear sub, almost as soon as it leaves port it could be anywhere on Earth and so your opponent never knows whether they will be attacked by one.
Best look at the small print that comes out of it: I smell a nasty attempt at cost-cutting at the expense of the country’s security. For nothing you get nothing: and you don’t get much for sixpence either.
I’m confused. I’ve just read it and it’s fuzzed my brain
£3.3 million to look into what we already know?
Hey Putin. My sticks as big as yours and I can be a bloody big bully if I want.
So ssshhhhh, sunshine. ☝️
Speak softly, and carry a big stick.
If you want peace, prepare for war.
There. Why are they spending 3 million again?
Because this more nuanced than that….
How to state the constructive ambiguity?
What sort of calibrated conventional responses are on the pathway?
How do you convey messages to the rational (China) and loons (Iran) at the same time?
In The Cold War messaging was understood by diplomats sat round UN tables.
In this world order a lot of the countries are not so diplomatically engaged or skilled.
Well that’s typically well thought out and observed, SB.
And seems to lie in item 2 in their list.
As for the rest, and part 4 especially, I can only shake my head at what 1 million a year will improve over 3 years in a multi billion, cutting edge enterprise such as the AWE.
We need the brightest and the best for AWE, if the best are white, it doesn’t matter. If they’re black, it doesn’t matter. If they’re gay, it doesn’t matter.
Can they do the job? Diversity should be second to national security.
A train I got on in Wimbledon last Tuesday had job adverts for AWE, I was surprised to see. The mandatory coloured chap with a clipboard. Much like the TV adverts today. Assume that is also a part of this initiative.
3.3 million (in a small way) would contribute towards strengthening the UK’s air defence, which appears to be lacking. Someone needs to inform the MOD that missile attacks are not privy to the Middle East nor Ukraine.
You should apply for a share of the 3.3 million !!!🤣
I’m on the left but this seems completely pointless, including most of the EDI stuff. Hire the best person for the job, if they’re white, black, or purple I don’t care as long as they are the best for the job. I do support workplaces being more accommodating and accessible however. Regarding deterrent research is there anything we don’t already know anyway?
Interesting..I would say that a lot of people have realised we no longer understand the motivations and therefore ways of deterring a lot of the nuclear states that now exist…
1) how does one deter new potentially nuclear armed states (Iran)
2) how does one deter china and what are its redlines
3) will Russia lever its escalation tree and can we effectively deter a nation that sees the use of tactical nuclear weapons as a valid tactic of escalation.
4) what does some of our “allies” nuclear response look like (Israel and its Sampson option).
5) what is the impact of Pakistani and Indian nuclear arsenals ( after all the models say that if India and Pakistan go for a 100 warhead exchange they will knock out 10% of world food production for almost a decade..will we ever be geostrategic opponents to these powers and need to deter them.
6) what deterrent status is needed for a nuclear armed North Korea.
7) will we see any other nuclear armed states in the future..such as Brazil ?
our nuclear deterrent was always focused on the Soviet Union…our modern deterrent needs to be focused on lots of different nations and cultures..that may just think very differently to Europeans and needs a more diverse bunch of researchers to consider the various states.
then I suppose there are other questions around future technology and will it mean we need to change our deterrent….there have been some interesting papers on the future transparency of the Ocean’s and the likelihood of detection of nuclear submarines..for instance I read one paper..which highlighted stealth would I prove for may be the next 20 years..but then after that point detection would win over so much that within 50 years the ocean would no longer be a safe place for deterrents….
Dear God Almighty what the the hell is this drivel ? A nuclear weapon is quite simply the most perfect non discriminatory object ever invented by humanity. It doesn’t care if you are black, white, gay, male or female or not entirely sure, it will be either kill you or con-sine you to a slow and ugly death.
This is better odds than the lottery, just write a nice paper in Political speak that says “I have Nuclear Weapons and although you may have more, you know mine will kill a lot of your people, so what’s it worth to find out if I’d use them ?”.
Now can I have my £3 million ?
Eloquently put. 🤪
And this is on the same day as being a Sexist, Mysoginistic scumbag got classed as being in the same category as being a Terrorist. Don’t get me wrong folks like the those are not exactly nice, but they don’t blow people up.
Oh God What have we elected ?
Either recruit the very best people regardless or use a quota system and watch what happens.
Now you’ve done it Barry. Where are we going to find someone 81 % white 7% asian 4% black. I left out the don’t knows! 😇
Well, Gen. Roach, just turn to advertising agencies! They have thousands of them ready and waiting!
Are there any white folks left on the adverts? 🙄
Yes more DEI ,We have too be more Inclusive , so let’s include more anti nuclear personnel into the workforce .You must include everybody regardless of what they think So long as we can say we have a high DEI score . That will please the Governments overlords. This is a Sarcastic post George .
PS ,dei = as you’ve ticked all the boxes, and haven’t the faintest idea what this Job entails your hired welcome aboard .
Is it just me or did this say billion when first written?
Just you.