The Chairman Mao resembling, Monarchy hating, threat to Britain, Labour Party thread

[MakemineVanilla]

[Awol]

Everyone knows Trident exists to be fired at Jeremy Corbyn should he be elected Prime Minister. There may be one or two other casualties. 

Despite the musings of that pillock Portillo, Trident is an independent nuclear deterrent.  The missiles are American made, the warheads are ours as are the submarines to launch them. Authority for their use rests with the PM alone, or in the event of a first strike on the UK with the Commander of the vessel at sea when it happens. 

Who in UK would have believed in 1895 that less than fifty years later Britain would be fighting for its continued existence against Germany? Who honestly believes they can say how the world will look 50 years from now? That is the the lifetime of the insurance policy that the next generation of Trident provides, as long as it exists the territorial security of our Islands are underwritten by several dozen buckets of instant sunshine and all of our potential adversaries know this. It is Trident's sole purpose.  Things were very close run in 1940 and could easily have gone the other way.  No government could allow themselves to be caught so unprepared again and Trident ensures they will not, a purpose for which it is cheap at the price.

Not expecting many likes for this but that is the rationale behind the deterrent.  

  

[tonyh29]

Yes but we could use the money on 2,000,000 nurses and then nobody would ever be ill ever again .

 

[tonyh29]

bit late to the party with this one but it did make me chuckle

[MakemineVanilla]

Everyone knows Trident exists to be fired at Jeremy Corbyn should he be elected Prime Minister. There may be one or two other casualties. 

Despite the musings of that pillock Portillo, Trident is an independent nuclear deterrent.  The missiles are American made, the warheads are ours as are the submarines to launch them. Authority for their use rests with the PM alone, or in the event of a first strike on the UK with the Commander of the vessel at sea when it happens. 

Who in UK would have believed in 1895 that less than fifty years later Britain would be fighting for its continued existence against Germany? Who honestly believes they can say how the world will look 50 years from now? That is the the lifetime of the insurance policy that the next generation of Trident provides, as long as it exists the territorial security of our Islands are underwritten by several dozen buckets of instant sunshine and all of our potential adversaries know this. It is Trident's sole purpose.  Things were very close run in 1940 and could easily have gone the other way.  No government could allow themselves to be caught so unprepared again and Trident ensures they will not, a purpose for which it is cheap at the price.

Not expecting many likes for this but that is the rationale behind the deterrent.  

  

Of the 195 countries in the world there are only nine with nuclear capability, including the UK.

What is unique about the UK which requires us to have 200 warheads, while we tell other countries they don't need them.

 

 

[Awol]

@MMV - Simply put we were in before the lock, although subsequent proliferation proves that lock isn't worth too much. If the objection is premised on "well why should we have them if so many others can't?" I say, "unlucky". I'm not overly concerned about a utopian world view, I am concerned about the safety of the UK.  If that means not being martyrs to principle and having an unfair advantage over others then good, frankly. 

[Xann]

Despite the musings of that pillock Portillo, Trident is an independent nuclear deterrent.  The missiles are American made, the warheads are ours as are the submarines to launch them. 

It's the bit between the sub and the target that's under the control of the US.

 

[meregreen]

100 Billion pounds. That's a very expensive price tag for something, which if we use, we die.Rather spend it on things which are useful. Most of the world seems to manage perfectly well without Trident. I think we could too.

[Awol]

Despite the musings of that pillock Portillo, Trident is an independent nuclear deterrent.  The missiles are American made, the warheads are ours as are the submarines to launch them. 

 

It's the bit between the sub and the target that's under the control of the US.

The US maintain and upgrade the actual missiles for us that is true, but the deterrent missile boat that is on station at sea has a fully functioning UK controlled capability. Should the PM decide to use it then no external actor, including the USA, is able to stop it.    

[Xann]

You'd put your mortgage on that, aye?

We're in the murky end of secrecy here.

The missile is thought to check its location before reentry.

It is also thought that it can't be targeted at large areas of the globe.

It's also thought likely the US is able to stop its own missiles, as a safety feature if nothing else.

Lockheed Martin are the only ones who know for sure.

Bit of a pig in a poke isn't it?

[tonyh29]

You'd put your mortgage on that, aye?

We're in the murky end of secrecy here.

The missile is thought to check its location before reentry.

It is also thought that it can't be targeted at large areas of the globe.

It's also thought likely the US is able to stop its own missiles, as a safety feature if nothing else.

Lockheed Martin are the only ones who know for sure.

Bit of a pig in a poke isn't it?

The R&D and tweaks are all done at Aldermaston here in the UK ..since we are entering this realm of what if ..maybe our tech guys have inserted a backdoor into the guidance system  and we can send them towards Pennsylvania Ave should the US try 

[Awol]

You'd put your mortgage on that, aye?

We're in the murky end of secrecy here.

The missile is thought to check its location before reentry.

It is also thought that it can't be targeted at large areas of the globe.

It's also thought likely the US is able to stop its own missiles, as a safety feature if nothing else.

Lockheed Martin are the only ones who know for sure.

Bit of a pig in a poke isn't it?

Yes the finer points of the nuclear deterrent are unsurprisingly not available though a Google search. However we developed our own warheads after WW2 because the US refused to share the IP from the Manhattan Project with us - the t*ats. The speed with which we did it came as a shock in Washington and, it is said, a decision was made to have us inside the tent peeing out, rather than outside peeing in.  Given that, I'm confident the UK would not be staking its ultimate survival on a system that had a kill switch on Barry's desk.  If that genuinely was the case we'd have gone in with the French and developed a joint system. 

 

EDIT: One of the reasons we went for an independent deterrent rather than relying on the US umbrella during the Cold War was a deep concern that the US would not retaliate against a Russian strike targeting UK, for fear of inviting a strike against the homeland.  Alliances are all well and good, until it comes to a nuclear exchange...   

Edited October 1, 2015 by Awol

[Xann]

We also cracked supersonic flight before they did. Busy and skint rebuilding the country after war, we told them how to do it if they shared test results. They didn't.

Our ally has lead us down the garden path and not shared information on more than one occasion.

This and the discussion we're having above are precisely the reason why the French developed their own system.

[tonyh29]

We also cracked supersonic flight before they did. Busy and skint rebuilding the country after war, we told them how to do it if they shared test results. They didn't.

Our ally has lead us down the garden path and not shared information on more than one occasion.

This and the discussion we're having above are precisely the reason why the French developed their own system.

The  American Bell X -1 says Hello 

[Xann]

Yeah - We had one before they did, minus the engine but with the tail assembly that makes handling at supersonic speeds possible.

[tonyh29]

Yeah - We had one before they did, minus the engine but with the tail assembly that makes handling at supersonic speeds possible.

I can see the flaw in your argument here

[Xann]

I can see the flaw in your argument here

Ha ha ha - Well make your own mind up...

Miles M52

It could be argued the X1 was Anglo German.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Xann

[snowychap]

I was suggesting that people make decisions based on who they would like to see as PM .. the focus on the election was pretty much all  about the leaders...

So that was what your post was about, was it?

The post that you made with some comment about 'my memo' after I'd posted the following:

That we have an electorate acting that stupidly is the fault of lots of people (not least the electorate) but most especially politicians and those that describe politics in such crassly simplistic terms.

Edited October 1, 2015 by snowychap

[chrisp65]

This £100 Billion deterrent that will last 40 years. Firstly, I have absolute confidence that this military high tech project will be delivered on time and to budget. Secondly, I am thoroughly impressed that nothing can be designed or conceived in the next 40 years that could possibly undermine what will clearly be infallible technology.

This needs to be pitched to the public in the right way. We can have a british military shield that will last a thousand years, employ a thousand people and melt a thousand cities. OR, you can have an extra £5 in your pocket for a pint.

That should put it in perspective at the next election for the average voter.

[TrentVilla]

This £100 Billion deterrent that will last 40 years. Firstly, I have absolute confidence that this military high tech project will be delivered on time and to budget. Secondly, I am thoroughly impressed that nothing can be designed or conceived in the next 40 years that could possibly undermine what will clearly be infallible technology.

This needs to be pitched to the public in the right way. We can have a british military shield that will last a thousand years, employ a thousand people and melt a thousand cities. OR, you can have an extra £5 in your pocket for a pint.

That should put it in perspective at the next election for the average voter.

By the time of the next election people will probably struggle to buy a pint for £5.