UK Prepared to Cut Trident Nuclear Submarines

BAE Systems Plc and Rolls-Royce Group Plc are among the major contractors that would build three instead of the four submarines that have been planned to replace the Vanguard class vessels that carry Trident nuclear missiles.

“If we are serious about the ambition of a nuclear-free world we will need statesmanship, not brinkmanship,” Brown will tell the United Nations general assembly today, according to extracts of his speech released by his office. He is due to address the UN Security Council tomorrow.

Brown is seeking to jumpstart talks aimed at curbing the spread of nuclear arms by getting countries like Iran to give up their pursuit of such weapons in return for concessions from the West. He will tell the UN of a plan that includes other incentives that would allow countries to drop aspirations of joining the nuclear club.

(...) The U.K. is planning to spend about 20 billion pounds ($32.7 billion) over the next two decades to replace the existing Vanguard-class submarines, which carry Britain’s Trident nuclear missiles and finish their life in service in 2024. A BAE spokesman said the decision on Trident is one for the government. Rolls-Royce declined to comment.