A recent debate in the Scottish Parliament has brought to the fore incorrect statements made by Richard Leonard, the former leader of Scottish Labour, about the UK’s control of its Trident nuclear weapons.
This article responds to those claims, aiming to correct the record and reaffirm the independence of the UK’s nuclear defence capabilities.
His remarks are as follows:
“Finally, what of our own situation in all of this? The idea of an independent UK nuclear deterrent is mendacious. The Pentagon supplies us with nuclear warheads. Any use of weapons from these shores would need to be sanctioned by the President of the United States of America, and only then at the request of the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, who is always an American general. We are a client state, but the power of example should not be underestimated. That is why I do not flinch in my support for unilateral nuclear disarmament.”
Here’s why the above is inaccurate.
“The Pentagon supplies us with nuclear warheads”
This is inaccurate. The UK produces its own nuclear warheads. While the Trident II D5 missiles are American-made and serviced in the US, the warheads themselves are designed, manufactured, and maintained by the UK.
“Any use of weapons from these shores would need to be sanctioned by the President of the United States of America”
This is not the case. The UK maintains full operational control over its Trident missile system. As established by the UK government and supported by information regarding the absence of Permissive Action Links (PALs) in the UK system, the decision to authorise a launch rests solely with the Prime Minister and does not require US approval.
“Only then at the request of the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, who is always an American general”
This statement is misleading. While the UK’s nuclear forces are committed to NATO’s overall defence strategy, the use of UK nuclear weapons is not contingent upon the request or authorisation of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander. The UK’s nuclear deterrent is primarily a national decision, though it would likely be in coordination with NATO allies if it were in response to a broader threat.
“We are a client state”
Characterising the UK as a “client state” is an opinion and not reflective of the factual independence the UK maintains over its nuclear forces. While there is a close relationship with the US, the UK’s strategic decision-making capabilities regarding its nuclear arsenal are autonomous.
Trident in brief
While the system does use American-made missiles and is part of a logistic and maintenance agreement with the United States, the key aspects of control and authority over the use of these weapons remain within the UK’s purview.
The missiles, while American-made, are equipped with British-designed and manufactured warheads, and they are maintained in a way that ensures operational independence. This independence extends to the heart of the decision-making process for the use of the UK’s nuclear capability, which resides solely with the British Prime Minister and government.
The claim that the United States has control over the UK’s Trident system, particularly that the Pentagon supplies the UK with nuclear warheads and that any use of these weapons would need to be sanctioned by the President of the United States, is a misrepresentation of the facts.
The UK’s Trident system does not require such sanction. Moreover, the argument that the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, invariably an American general, would need to request the use of UK’s nuclear weapons is also incorrect. While the UK’s nuclear forces are committed to NATO, the use of the UK’s nuclear arsenal remains a national decision.
The Trident missiles’ guidance system is another area where misunderstanding has propagated. These missiles are not reliant on the GPS system, thus debunking the myth that the US could disable the UK’s nuclear capability by switching off GPS. The missiles employ an inertial navigation system, with stellar guidance as a backup, enabling them to operate with complete independence from any external control or satellite navigation system.
What would happen without American support?
If US support were to cease, the UK’s Trident system would continue to function effectively in the short term. The maintenance support from the United States is not a lever of control but a cost-effective measure for both nations.
Any significant impact on the Trident system would only emerge after a period of about 12 to 18 months when scheduled maintenance would be due. This would require the UK to adapt its own maintenance facilities, an endeavour that would be financially and technically significant but not insurmountable.
My intent is to correct the spread of misinformation about the UK’s nuclear deterrent. Misconceptions like these can mislead public opinion and international perspectives, affecting discussions on national security and defence policy. It is crucial to present accurate information, especially on such critical matters, ensuring that public discourse is informed by fact rather than fiction.
In summary, Leonard’s statement misrepresents the technical and operational realities of the UK’s Trident system. The design of the system, the command structure, and the choice of technology all support the UK’s stance of having a nuclear deterrent that is independently controllable and not subject to external authorisation, including that from the United States or NATO’s command structure.
The technicalities of the system’s guidance, the absence of PALs, and the sovereign chain of command provide clear evidence of this independence.
Absolutely correct and i wish we could get that information out to the public in a wider way
On a separate note the adverts on the site are getting ridiculous there are 5 in that short article sometimes with only four lines of text before the next advert. I appreciate you need the funds to run this George but can anything be done?
I had one advert that looked like it was a tactical dog harness…I’ve not got a dog…the adverts with the women in skimpy underwear…have on occasion lead to a sideways look from my wife..with a quick explanation from me…😂😂😂😂
You get adverts? I’ve never seen one on this site.
Do you have some kind of ad blocker software? There are adverts. Lots for temu with some questionable products I never knew I needed.
I bought a phone cover a few weeks ago and guess what the advert is today? Phone covers from blanc space
Using Safari but I do have AdBlock plus i use for YouTube to remove ads but it’s not on here. I don’t use google products as defaults either as they backdoor ads in.
I dont see any problem with this, when Labour come to power they will take a moral stance and get rid of the nuclear deterent as its the right thing to do. just as it was right thing for Keir Starmer to remove his poppy when he made his islamophobia speech to the British Islamic population
Now now, be fair. It was an accident. Storm ceiran blew it off. Could’ve happened to anyone!
I’m no apologist for Labour Farouk, but I think our nuclear deterrent will be safe under Starmer. The key thing here is ‘under Starmer’. Of course, if the parliamentary Labour party do a ‘Boris’ and depose him, then all bets are off… Look at the Tories dizzying revolving head shed and chopping and changing of policies, I see no reason why Labour should be any different. The old center left and far left in fighting will trigger, as they squabble for the levers of power. I would expect this to kick off when Starmer shows his Union paymasters his empty… Read more »
Are any of them capable of making tough decisions?
I genuinely fear for the security of our country should it ever have to face a future challenge from another nation state.
I would totally agree with you, without our NATO allies we have very little to defend ourselves with.
i think it’s safe, the Corbin brigade will have been safely removed from the parliamentary party by the next election….with Labour holding society conservative northern seats I see the central London class war brigade disappearing for a long while.
It will all depend on which way the wind is blowing both major parties these days make policy on an ad hoc basis, what gets said today, and what actually happens tomorrow is never consistent with promises, made in the past
That is not far off, but what you tend to find is the party that has been out of power for a long time and had its arse kicked for a decade..tends to be a little more in tune with the electorate than the party that has been in power for over a decade…who end up believing what the party faithful say is somehow the most important thing…when infact the party membership is always way away from normal…so we usually get one term of sense…a second term of iffy and if they get a third term full of a load… Read more »
If our poppys offend a certain demographic of the uk then might I suggest they pack up and leave after all the very reason we have a country where people can spout such rubbish as your comment is because our men didn’t run and claim asylum in another country
I spend at least £30 a year on poppies, granted half of that will purchase 2 metal badges from the RBL , (Which I always give alway) the rest is money I just put in the box at the manned poppy stand we always have in the centre of town. But heres what really gets my goat, despite all the claims of so many Muslims fought for the British during past wars, I’ve never seen one wearing a poppy . I have a feeling that this year a load will set off air horns on the 11th during our minutes… Read more »
So you want foreign immigrants to abuse our long held rights so they can be taken away from us? Just go and live in a repressive state that already exists.
What you mean like how a geezer (Ex sapper) had his collar lifted in Guildford for posting on Social media a picture of 4 trans flags put together a picture which was aired on the telly, and major newspapers , how about the Scottish geezer nicked the other day for posting a video of all the Palestinian flags , or the wife of the vicar (Also in Guildford) for calling a man in a dress a man, or even that 16 year old autistic girl for saying that copper in comfy shoes looked like her lesbian Nana. Or even that… Read more »
Apologies, that EDL is wrong , it should be UKIP.
And that should not be happening. In fact, I’d say it’s horrible overreach and abuse of the law. It’s also anecdotal evidence that the law is not being enforced equally, which I think we all knew in our hearts. “Part and Parcel” of living in clownworld.
Exactly, yet the powers that be whilst happy to clamp down on non crimes ,are more than happy to turn a blind eye to those who actually harm society. I have no problem with civil and peaceful protests , yet the powers that be drag their feet towards, the vegan, eco, trans and now Islamist crowd. The latter go out of their way to intimidate a certain religion and then try to say they aren’t. Yet they use the bunfight in the ME to push their mindset onto us all. Just look at the pressure they are placing on Labour,… Read more »
They never came here for sanctuary. They came to conquer at the behest of the other tribe who hate European nations.
Cultured cat people are excused typos.
Another cracking post from Farouk. I’d vote for you mate.
Buy more ferrys to return the scum back to where they came from.
I see them as victims, trafficked for an agenda and pulled from their own lives and culture. They must be returned, but as far as possible with kindness and support. Send them home with fond memories and as friends if possible. If they refuse… gloves come off. Nationalism should be grounded in love of your own people, not hatred of others. I hate the effects they have had on our people but do they know any better? MSM conditioned them to resent and despise us but it was based on lies. If we lash out in genocidal hatred, we become… Read more »
I’m intrigued, sorry for the late response, “no better than the Jews” do you not like Jews? are you anti-Semite? Do you link the Jews with the policies of the Israeli Government?
Anti-semitic? No, if they stay in their own lands. The Arabs are Semitic peoples too you know. The Jews and the state of Israel are intrinsically linked by themselves. They give all Jews an automatic right to “return”, and any criticism of the Israeli state is called by that state “anti-Semitic”. Therefore, the actions of the state in the occupied territories are the actions of the Jews. The real questions are why do Jews in the US fall so heavily on the anti 2A side of voting blocs? Why do they fall so heavily on the open borders side across… Read more »
So you are then, an anti semite, they are ok as long as they stay in their own lands? Wow.
As a nationalist it would be kind of odd to be ok with half the dross of the planet washing up on our shores would it not? If you can’t live without them, I’m sure you can move to the US or another melting pot “progressive” country.
We were discussing the Jewish population not quick efforts at distancing yourself from your previous comment “we become less ourselves and no better than the Jews”? That is an anti Jewish specific comment mate so my question still stands in regard to your anti-Semitism?
I would deport you pal first .
So Peter, You are ok how the war memorial in Rochdale saw all its wreaths thrown on the floor and replaced by a Palestine flag, You are happy to see the Poppy stand at Charing Cross surrounded by pro Palestine protesters who go out of their way to intimidate the staff You are happy to see McDonald’s and Starbucks outlets attacked and their customers abused as in Leicester Square yesterday You are happy to see police physically attacked You are happy to see fireworks been launched at Police in Trafalgar Square. You are happy to see people on the streets… Read more »
No am not but silly post don’t help . I was on a anti immigrate protest in Rochdale in the 70s . The latest attack on the war memorial was Labour’s momentum Manchester university students middle class lefty whites .
Sorry anti immigration that was ment to say.
“You are ok how the war memorial in Rochdale saw all its wreaths thrown on the floor and replaced by a Palestine flag”
You mean they got blown onto the floor by the wind (caught on video) and some fash c*** decided they had the right to take down the Palestinian flag?
Remembrance Day is a non-political commemoration of all war dead, try and remember that.
Foreign immigrants wrongly in the zUk should be removed far faster than they are. Maybe refuse asylum applications more often than we do
And never will. The status of these W🛳️rs⚓ should have their residence status checked Id wager a few shouldn’t be here
Your seriously deluded pal .
He’s not right in the head.
Like they did last time they were in government and the time before that? I don’t know what’s worse, being a weak minded fool brainwashed by tory spin or being a genuine supporter of vile greed raping the country for their own financial gain. Which are you? A weak minded fool or just sick and twisted?
Reform party and voters always project the worst case scenario x 20.
And Labour are even worse .
Well said George.
Some posters, for the most part obvious Trolls, have made similar statements on this site, and been corrected by myself and others.
The often deliberate misinformation is endless.
Maybe Richard Leonard should go and demand other nations should remove their nuclear forces before we do?
Always the western democracies first.
The niaivety of these CND types is shocking.
Unfortunately most Brits believe the rest of the world thinks like them, I’m away to do daisy chains and relax 🌼
Morning Daniele, the CND has always been an idealistic, ‘head in the clouds’ organisation, mainly followed by students who see the world in a rather simplified black and white, right and wrong way. I had a interesting discussion with a good friends daughter at a dinner party last year, she’s 19, at university and passionately believes in nuclear disarmament. We had a good chat about the subject , getting into geo politics and I have to commend her for actually sticking to her position. At least she’s got a view point and she argues her case in a concise manner,… Read more »
Morning my friend.
Hi M8,
Labour will not touch the CASD or AUKUS, quite simply the US, Australia, the engineering Unions and British Industry would crucify them.
Oh and AUKUS long lead nuclear components are now officially in build. In all my years I’ve never seen a programme pursued at this pace or well funded.
https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/our-stories/discover/2023/rr-welcomes-australias-deputy-prime-minister-and-uk-defence-secretary-to-derby.aspx
Hi mate.
Yes, I’d read of the long lead stuff.
I hope the same applies to Tempest.
Sadly people who believe in unilateral disarmament are deluded. Even if every Nation gets rid of their nukes and the industry requires to build them. The genie is well and truly out of the bottle. Therefore the knowledge of how to build one, how to enrich uranium, how to super compress a sphere to start criticality and the chain reaction for fission is readily available on the web. Secondly the mechanics required to build such a device even without prior knowledge can be gained by empirical experimentation. It is human nature to want have power over others. Which brings a… Read more »
Well the fact CND were bought and paid for by the KGB, is well documented…for me that means the organisation never had any credibility ( it was essentially run by an enemy secret service and their paid for lackeys) my personal view is the vast nuclear tipped ballistic missile stocks are still a risk to humanity and I would love to support the UK nuclear arsenals stood down to a handful of something like an air, sea sub launched cruise missile…but only at the very moment Russia and china dismantled their nuclear ballistic missile forces and did the same…….until then… Read more »
Your posts always cheer me up…not!
No seriously, it is sobering stuff.
But interestingly and on a very positive note we have only ever used nuclear weapons in that one situation… which is amazing considering…it’s seems as if we have essentially as a species decided we have them, but we are not going to use them…for a species that is prone to personal violent nihilism as well as mass ideological, cultural and philosophical nihilism (especially in the male half ) I would say it’s a remarkably positive sign that we have not blown ourselves to kingdom come……bodes well for the future….it is remarkable really especially when you consider the two sides holding… Read more »
I could see non state actors using them, if they ever managed to get hold of one and work out how it ticks.
And Iran. Though that would also mean their eradication so may be even the mullahs would pause?
Yes I think you are right, I think there is potential for an individual or small group to use one, but however horrible that event will be, it will still just be one more mass killing event in human history, and it will be an isolated event…looking at the state actors with limited nuclear arsenals…even if Iran was so stupid as to us a nuclear weapon and Israel responded it would still “only” be a regional tragedy. But I think with Iran, they would not use a nuclear weapon unless it was via a completely deniable route. Iran has its… Read more »
“I would love to support the UK nuclear arsenals stood down to a handful of something like an air, sea sub launched cruise missile”. Well that would actually be a considerable expansion of the UK’s nuclear strike capability. Currently, our sole platform is the fleet (if four boats constitute a fleet) of nuclear armed submarines, of which typically only one or two are at sea. The responsibility for strategic weapons was passed from the RAF and it’s fleet of V Bombers to the Royal Navy with the introduction of the Polaris missiles and submarines. Thereafter, the RAF only had tactical… Read more »
Daniele,
he’s a paid up member of CND, really pally (No pun intended) with JC, and he’s only the ex leader because he was forced out, I he tried to capture a slot at the 2021 elections, came second to the SNP, so maybe he reading the lay of the land is looking at capturing a few disfranchised SNP voters next time around.
So….another of the enemies within.
Just playing devils advocate (a little) here ..and/or seeking clarification…
You mention maintenance in your appraisal and state:
“This would require the UK to adapt its own maintenance facilities, an endeavour that would be financially and technically significant but not insurmountable.”
Could you (or someone) provide more context and detail around that …
What are the actual issues aound that requirement , how difficult would it be to address them and is this something that could be achieved in thise timescales.
Any further explanation to re-enforce the statement & mitigate that concern would be appreciated- cheers.
David Lloyd, one of our regulars here, is well informed in this area.
Shhhh!!
😉
John in Minsk ( or one of his various split personalities) will suddenly reappear asking David if he knows any good launch codes!
Frosty has also vanished. Duker?
I’ve often suspected Dunker mate, slightly better put together than your regular St Petersburg morse tapper, but still suspect shall we say….
Duker stepped over a line recently, action was taken. One or two of our more controversial posters have stepped over the bounds of Uk laws around antisemitism, which is not something that can be left.
Ahh, right, thank you. I’d missed that.
@grizzler There is not much to disagree with in George’s article above, which is an accurate description of the current situation regarding the UK independent nuclear deterent. The UK maintains an independent sovereign ability to design, build and deploy thermonuclear (H bomb) and fission type nuclear warheads should it ever become necessary. We have ample supplies of highly enriched uranium and literally tons of plutonium UK nuclear warheads are designed, built and maintained at AWE’s Aldermaston facility independently of the US and are mounted on Trident missile MIRV reentry vehicles here, not in the US. The Trident missiles are drawn… Read more »
Hi David,
Thanks for the detailed response – much appreciated.
I suppose it was more about the UK based maintenance capabilities for the missles themselves & if it was credible they be bought in house & what sorts of timescales would be needed to do so?
Cheers
It guess it would be technically possible for us to produce a Trident II replacement but it would be very expensive. We have a very close and mutually supportive nuclear weapons relationship with our American cousins. A Trident II D5 Life Extension Program (D5LE) is currently underway. The main aim is to replace obsolete components at minimal cost by using commercial off the shelf hardware; all the while maintaining the demonstrated performance of the existing Trident II missiles. In 2007, Lockheed Martin was awarded a total of $848 million in contracts to perform this and related work, which also included… Read more »
It would be fairly easy to design a multiple stage rocket, to place a weapons platform in low earth orbit. That can deliver a number of multiple independent re-entry vehicles.
However, this rocket would not have the reliability that Trident has. Trident has over 30 years of build practice and has be constantly tested since it first came into production. The UK built rocket would be starting from scratch, its reliability would be undetermined. So its reliability would be questionable. Which is something that is undesirable for a nuclear deterrent.
A British Trident was tested in 2015 – out of sequence – being launched from one of our Vanguard SSBN. This missile veered off course and had to be destroyed in flight
The enquiry concluded that the launch system was operating an un-patched (!!) version of Windows XP, which had become corrupted following the introduction of email to RN boats.
There was no end of trouble with the Americans over this incident. However, the operating system was replaced and subsequent test launches have proved satisfactory.
We kind of did that after the US adopted Poseidon and we retained Polaris. It was do-able but challenging.
Why do these politicians continue to make wrong statement’s. Either he doesn’t know what he’s talking about or he is wrong. Normally when don’t know what you’re talking about you do research to find out the answer and keep quiet until you know the answer.
If he is wrong on purpose that’s even worse and he needs corrected and should issue a correction.
I must say I’ve never heard of the him and I live in Scotland.
When they do get something factually wrong they should issue an apology stating what they were wrong about.
I would do it for the newspapers, web sites etc. The correction has to take up as much space and be in the same position as the original story.
So if a paper prints a false story on page 3-4 the correction has to be the same size as the article coving page 3-4.
there was a FOI submitted to the MOD which covered the lunch control of our nuclear deterrent. nice letter back from MOD which enplaned it all, sadly certain politicians still need to make silly claims
You’re describing the expection of normal people with functioning brains, as opposed to politicians.
Imagine that a politician talking about something they know nothing about and shocking it’s a labour one that makes a change doesn’t it remains me of the last mass shooting we had in Plymouth where the police gave a mentally unstable idiot his gun back and a labour mp stood up in parliament all proud and said what we need is medical checks before you get issued a shotgun licence not knowing that’s how it has been for years
Typical political statements by people who wish to pomulgate their own opinion and wishes in support of their private ideology.
I have alluded before to the misguided ignorance letting political blinkered politics get in the way of pragmatic facts. You have to be totally ignorant to believe the UK could purchase nukes from another country. Even our closet allies would place sanctions on us. This is simply a politician looking to take the CND vote from the SNP no matter what the cost. Unfortunately, this gentleman is not the only politicians willing to risk this country security; we have hundreds like him in all the parliaments throughout the UK.
Advocates of unilateral disarmament very seldom understand what they’re advocating, so this is unsurprising. Re. The notion that the US supplies us with warheads- not only is that not the case, but to do so would be illegal under the terms of the NPT. This I think really illustrates the staggering depth of this man’s ignorance.
Perhaps the policitician in question should be sent a copy of this information and asked to comment?
On a more definite note, yesterday RR Derby hosted a formal visit by the U.K Defence Secretary and Australian Deputy Prime Minister (also their Defence Minister). They held a press conference, were shown round the site, reviewed the future expansion of the site (it really is cracking along at pace) and also were shown the very 1st long lead components for the first AUKUS boat which are under construction. It’s now in the public domain so here is a link. https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/our-stories/discover/2023/rr-welcomes-australias-deputy-prime-minister-and-uk-defence-secretary-to-derby.aspx It’s a long way to go before it all gets really going up at Barrow but parts for AUKUS… Read more »
It’s getting depressing now nobody wants to tell the truth or the mouth pieces are so ignorant of fact they come away with utter shite like the politician in question. , everything is spin , half truth mis dis information all designed to keep the people in the dark ,to keep them off balance confused and in perpetual fear. The political system is broken , the MSM is bought and paid for our instructions are corrupt. Lies are repeated so many times by the media that the average Joe just believes the nonsense as fact. It’s clever and and it’s… Read more »
Yet another example of a. Scottish politician who clearly has no Idea of what he’s talking abou the Scottish parliament is full of utter pillocks who, in matters of defense, do more harm than good.
I not sure if this individual is just ill informed or being deliberately misleading for political aims. If we were not an independent nuclear power why would we go to the expense and trouble of developing and maintaining nuclear infrastructure and weapons… we could just have a nuclear sharing agreement like Germany.
We have very close links with the US but we are independent as is the CASD.
I think it must be a deliberate attempt to mislead. To be sufficiently interested in the subject to comment on it, yet so ill-informed seems improbable. I have previously heard other people claiming that we can’t use nukes without authorisation from the Americans. They also believed that CASD requires launch codes- which was the point that I realised that they were conflating Trident with the old USAF cruise missile deployment at Greenham Common…
So a shocking demonstration of ignorance sufficient to bar the author from public office in Defence of Scotland or the UK generally given that is not devolved.
Thanks to George for calling this out.
A valuable public service and journalist best practice advocacy for truth.