UK General Election thread

[I AM MOBIUS]

I was being polite

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

versus here where the UK nuclear deterrent and so forth are at stake

The UK does not have a nuclear deterrent. It is merely hosting part of the wider US nuclear capability, and paying billions of pounds to do so.

I realise some British people still approve of it, but they are mad.

[Hauldren Collider]

It is merely hosting part of the wider US nuclear capability, and paying billions of pounds to do so.

Uhhhhhhh

Unless y'all have given us the keys to your nukes and put our officers on your subs, that's not even a little true.

[I AM MOBIUS]

I bet if we decided to use them against the US, we wouldn't be able to, for example

Trident is a US made system. We are wholly beholden to the US for its continued upkeep, and that's just the obvious reasons why Bugs is right about our cosy (for them) little deal with the US...

We need to scrap Trident now.

[Dauphin]

i doubt the UK will give up its nuclear deterrent. all the main parties are committed to it, in one form or another, and i think it unlikely that it will be sacrificed in any negotiations with the minor parties.

Given that the PM's standing instructions are locked on board, to be followed as a dead man's switch, it leads to some almost obvious conclusions.

No prospective PM would ever hint that they don't want a nuclear deterrent unless they were fully committed to a nuclear free state. Any hint would lead you to conclude that the PM's instruction is not respond, and it makes the Trident system an expensive and obvious bluff.

[Dauphin]

Uhhhhhhh

Unless y'all have given us the keys to your nukes and put our officers on your subs, that's not even a little true.

A standing instruction is oft-said to be, in the event that the UK falls, sail to the U.S. or Australia.

[Dauphin]

I bet Blair would have wanted to nuke something though.

[C0ckney]

well the trident system is an expensive and obvious bluff...

[Dauphin]

But they don't know it!

[Hauldren Collider]

A standing instruction is oft-said to be, in the event that the UK falls, sail to the U.S. or Australia.

Since no one actually knows for sure what the instructions are, the deterrent is still there. Also worth noting, the UK could launch nukes before the point of total annihilation, such as in the event of invasion.

[C0ckney]

But they don't know it!

they?

yes, the french...

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Uhhhhhhh

Unless y'all have given us the keys to your nukes and put our officers on your subs, that's not even a little true.

There are no British personnel on the US military GPS infrastructure that Trident's targeting system relies on.

Do you honestly believe that Britain could go out today and land a nuke on Washington DC? If your answer is anything other than an unqualified "yes" you do not believe that Britain has an independent nuclear strike capability. And nobody really believes that Britain does, so why pretend otherwise?

[Jon Miller]

There are no British personnel on the US military GPS infrastructure that Trident's targeting system relies on.

Do you honestly believe that Britain could go out today and land a nuke on Washington DC? If your answer is anything other than an unqualified "yes" you do not believe that Britain has an independent nuclear strike capability. And nobody really believes that Britain does, so why pretend otherwise?

Would you support leaving the nuclear power club or just changing to non-US based technology.

JM

[Hauldren Collider]

There are no British personnel on the US military GPS infrastructure that Trident's targeting system relies on.

Do you honestly believe that Britain could go out today and land a nuke on Washington DC?

Yes. Absolutely. It'd be a pretty bad idea, but yes.

Incidentally the missiles use GPS guidance but also use many other navigation systems which are sufficiently accurate. The US military considered the possibility that GPS would be unavailable in the event we need to launch nukes when designing the Trident missiles. The missiles themselves are actually guided inertially--the launch location can (but does not have to) use GPS.

EDIT: They also use astrogation. There's a little camera onboard that looks at the stars to figure out where the missile is.

[spambot]

Uhhhhhhh

Unless y'all have given us the keys to your nukes and put our officers on your subs, that's not even a little true.

Is there a possible scenario in which the UK would use its nuclear weapons in a war that doesn't involve the UK and US being on the same side...?