The third of BASIC's 2016 Parliamentary Briefing series relating to the Trident debate focuses on the issue of continuous-at-sea-deterrence (CASD).
David Cameron announced at the NATO summit in Warsaw on Saturday, “a parliamentary vote [to be held] on July 18 to confirm MP's support for the renewal of four nuclear submarines capable of providing around the clock cover”. Theresa May is expected to follow through with this decision.
The second of BASIC’s 2016 Parliamentary Briefing series relating to the Trident debate is a primer on Trident’s cyber vulnerabilities. Cyber threats impact both critical civilian infrastructure and all military systems dependent upon digital control and communications.
The first of BASIC’s 2016 Parliamentary Briefing series relating to the Trident debate outlines the state of drone technology today relevant to anti-submarine warfare. Author David Hambling uses open sources to explore how small drone technology will impact the future detection and tracking of submarines.
In the wake of the parliamentary vote over a potential Trident successor, Former Assistant Chief of Defence Staff in the Ministry of Defence, John Gower, cited BASIC's three year independent cross-party enquiry on the issue. Gower acknowledged the balanced and inclusive approach BASIC adopted when undertaking the research.
NATO countries recently finalized arrangements to boost the alliance's rotational presence in Eastern Europe with four battalions in 2017. In an interview with Sputnik, Paul Ingram, Executive Director of the British American Security Information Council, commented on the issue.
“There is no doubt that it [the summit] is aimed at Russia. But it is also aimed at attempting to draw in and ensure that the alliance is cohesive,” the Paul Ingram said.
When NATO heads of state and government enter the halls of the National Stadium in Warsaw for their Summit meeting on Friday, July 8th they will do so with mixed anxieties. They will review the successful implementation of their 2014 Wales Summit commitments, in particular the NATO Readiness Action Plan and the partial reversal of the trend of declining defence budgets.
The Pentagon’s plans to acquire a new nuclear air-launched cruise missile (ALCM), known so far as the Long-Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO), remain live. On 16th June, the House of Representatives rejected an amendment to reduce funding for the development of the LRSO. If adopted, the cut would have slowed the development of the new weapon by three years, perhaps buying enough time to reconsider the wisdom behind the programme.
The potential fall-out from the UK vote to leave the EU cannot be over-estimated. The political, economic and constitutional implications are deeply uncertain. The market turmoil and the plunge in the value of the pound will translate into massive financial pressures on government spending. The pressures for constitutional referenda in Scotland and Northern Ireland have just strengthened dramatically.