British Lawmakers Will Vote On Whether To Renew Nuclear Deterrent

NUKEWARS

Britain's current nuclear deterrent was set up in the 1980s by then prime minister Margaret Thatcher, when the Soviet Union -- not global terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda -- was seen as the primary threat.

by Staff Writers
London (AFP) Jul 20, 2006
Members of the House of Commons, Britain's elected lower house of parliament, will be given a vote on whether Britain should renew its nuclear deterrent force, a cabinet minister said Thursday.

Prime Minister Tony Blair paved the way "two weeks ago when he did point out that we were the first government to give the house a vote over decisions to go to war," House leader Jack Straw said.

"Of course we should involve the house fully in a decision as important as the renewal of our nuclear deterrent," Straw said.

"And in practical terms it is inevitable that there will therefore be a chance for the house to express its view on this important matter in a vote," Straw added.

Straw did not say whether members of parliament from the governing Labour Party would be given a free vote on replacing the Trident nuclear missile system.

It is based on four Royal Navy submarines fitted with US-built Trident missiles which are due to become obsolete in the 2020s. One of the submarines is always on patrol, but the missiles are no longer pre-targeted.

Replacing the deterrent is likely to cost anywhere from 10 billion to 25 billion pounds (14.6 billion to 36.4 billion euros, 18.6 billion to 46.1 billion dollars), observers say.

Source: Agence France-Presse

NUKEWARS

Rocket Technology Testing Reaches 100-Percent Operation

Edwards AFB CA (AFNS) Jul 21, 2006
America's only staged combustion liquid booster rocket engine now in development marked an important milestone July 12 at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss. The engine reached steady-state 100-percent operation, demonstrating mainstage performance for the first time.

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