Show of force: U.K. announces test-fire of Trident 2 nuclear missile

02/08/2024 / By Ava Grace

The British Royal Navy has announced that it would test-fire the Trident 2 nuclear missile via the nuclear submarine HMS Vanguard.

According to the Sun, the test-firing would be the first time the U.K. would do so since 2016. During that year, a test-firing of the Trident ended up being botched – leaving the Royal Navy red-faced. Since then, the missile has undergone a seven-year refit.

The Trident 2 missile, which measures 44 feet, can go at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour and has a range of 7,500 miles. Meanwhile, the 30-year-old HMS Vanguard will be firing this missile to determine if it is eligible to re-enter service as part of the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent fleet. The 491-foot “colossus” submarine, which could reportedly patrol undetected for months at a time as per the Royal Navy, was pictured sailing from Port Canaveral in Florida.

The underwater craft can carry up to 16 Trident 2 D5 missiles in its hold. These missiles are each armed with multiple British-made warheads that are 20 times more powerful than the weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during World War II.

According to the Daily Mail, reports of the test-firing come amid rising fears that the U.K. and its allies could be pulled into a conflict in the coming years. Downing Street followed suit after Estonia and Sweden warned their respective citizens that the prospect of large-scale war is on the horizon. (Related: Bracing for war? NATO to establish network of “military corridors” across Europe.)

British Army head calls on citizens to BE READY

In a stark warning speech, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps sought to encapsulate the grave threats facing Britain and beyond. He reiterated that the world is moving “from a post-war to a pre-war” one.

“In five years’ time, we could be looking at multiple theaters – including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea,” said Shapps. “Ask yourself: Looking at today’s conflicts across the world, is it more likely that the number grows or reduces? I suspect we all know the answer.”

Meanwhile, the head of the British Army said Britons should be “trained and equipped” to fight in a potential war with Russia. Gen. Patrick Sanders, the British Army’s Chief of the General Staff, described the current generation as the “pre-war generation.”

According to Sanders, the war in Ukraine was a “pressure point,” adding: “We cannot afford to make the same mistake [as our forebears who] stumbled into … ghastly wars” such as World War I. The British Army head’s comments prompted anxiety about potential conscription – something Gen. Richard Shirreff, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said it was time to consider.

Leaked German intelligence documents suggest Berlin expects Russia to launch another wave of attacks to overwhelm Ukraine and is scrambling to come up with contingency plans in the event Russian troops march westward from Belarus.

The Israel-Hamas conflict threatens to spread violence across the Middle East, with Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance” – including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels – increasing their attacks on Israel and commercial shipping routes, prompting the U.K. and U.S. to launch a series of devastating strikes by air and sea.

Farther East, Taiwan’s election of a new democracy-loving president has angered Beijing even further, with a Chinese invasion of the island nation in the coming years looking ever more likely. And all the while, Kim Jong Un stands by with his fist clenching the keys to North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, ready to plunge his foes into radioactive winter.

Head over to MilitaryTechnology.news for more stories about military weapons.

Watch this video that explains why joint U.S.-U.K. strikes on Yemen would only worsen regional tensions.

This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.