The new eight-year deal, dubbed by London in a statement today as a “Unity” contract, will enhance the UK’s continuous at sea deterrent (CASD) and strengthen the AUKUS trilateral partnership.
The future warhead to replace submarine-launched Trident systems will be developed as a "sovereign" capability and "in parallel" with the US W93/Mk7 warhead, according to the Defence Nuclear Enterprise Command Paper.
The challenge for Western democratic institutions is not a lack of capability — it is a structural one.
“The key strategic risk remains we might need the SSNs much earlier than the proposed schedule," Neil James, executive director of the non-partisan watchdog, the Australia Defence Association, said.
As the Pentagon starts pumping cash into shipyards and small weapons manufacturers, is it enough to save some ailing production lines?
A British defense official talked up the good news about British defense spending in DC this week -- including on many US-built weapons -- but some dark clouds hang over the ambitious plan.