Reply #8: They are already upgrading it (Guardian) [View All]

[Celefin]

Britain's Trident nuclear weapons are being secretly upgraded to increase their accuracy and ability to attack a wider range of targets, the Guardian has learned.

Ministers have repeatedly denied there are plans to refurbish Britain's nuclear warheads, arguing that it will be up to the next parliament to decide whether to do so. However, the MoD has now admitted that a new firing device developed by the US is to be installed in Britain's nuclear weapons system by scientists at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire.

-snip-

John Ainslie, coordinator of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said it was "astonishing" that the MoD was secretly upgrading the existing Trident warhead without telling parliament.

Paul Ingram, senior analyst at the British American Security Information Council, said: "The level and type of investment at Aldermaston of which this is a part indicates that Britain is looking to further upgrade its warheads for a variety of uses beyond simple deterrence."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2033290,00.html