Trident renewal costs rise by £6bn, defence review reveals

Price of four new submarines for UK’s controversial nuclear deterrent programme now £31bn, with £10bn contingency


Debate over the renewal of the Trident nuclear programme is set to become even more intense after the Ministry of Defence disclosed the costs have jumped by billions of pounds.

David Cameron, announcing the outcome of the five-year strategic and security review in the Commons, pledged to maintain nuclear weapons as “our ultimate insurance policy as a nation” but failed to mention the new estimated cost.
The strategy document disclosed the cost of the proposed four nuclear submarines at £31bn, up from a projected cost of £25bn five years ago and £20bn in 2006.

The rapid rise will add to the already combustible argument over the UK’s nuclear programme ahead of a Commons vote due to be held next year on whether to renew Trident. The first of the submarines is not due to come into service until the early 2030s.

The review said a contingency of £10bn would also be set aside, suggesting the MoD fears the costs could rise beyond the £31bn estimate.

The Trident figure was one of the few elements of the strategic defence review that had not been revealed in advance. Downing Street said that the costs had increased after the completion of the design phase of the renewal programme. The prime minister’s spokeswoman said: “That reflects the fact that we have now gone through the design phase, we’ve got a better idea of costs and timescales. That is an update on the 2011 figure, which was £25bn.”
The government also confirmed in its defence review that the introduction of the new generation of Successor Trident submarines is to be delayed by up to five years. The phasing out of the current fleet of nuclear-armed Vanguard submarines, which had been due to take place in 2028, has been put back to the early 2030s. The prime minister said that a parliamentary vote will be held on the “maingate decision”. But Downing Street declined to say whether this would be held as originally planned in 2016.

The MoD is to spend £178bn over the next decade on weapons and equipment, of which £12bn is extra money. The Cabinet Office found £11bn in savings from the MoD, the security and intelligence agencies and counter-terrorism spending.


http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/23/trident-nuclear-renewal-costs-rise-by-6bn-defence-review-reveals


And before idiots start saying nuke IS, they are a small number, surrounded by thousands of men, women and children who they are terrorising.   Any nukes sent over would kill and maim all of them, and probably cause genetic malformations in any children the survivors might have.