Failure Of Trident Missile Test Comes At Critical Moment

The test firing of a Trident missile from a Royal Navy submarine has failed for the second time in a row, raising significant concerns about the efficacy of the UK's nuclear deterrent following a similar failure in the last test in 2016. Fired off the coast of the US in Jan, the booster rockets on the missile failed according to reports first published inThe Sun. As such the missile, rather than travelling thousands of miles to fall into the Atlantic Ocean instead fell near the submarine.

• US Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump's comments regarding NATO and his unwillingness to support 'delinquent' countries in the alliance has raised significantly awareness of the need for heightened military spending by other NATO states. The UK and France are the only other nuclear powers in NATO.
• Earlier this week, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that Russia would unleash its “entire strategic arsenal” at London, Berlin, and Washington, D.C., if the country were forced back to its 1991 borders. While the prospect of Russia moving back to those borders is slim, the rhetoric will raise concerns in the West.
• The UK is one of the NATO members that spends above the 2% of GDP on defence NATO target. With the Budget statement approaching on 6 March the gov't will be under pressure to both cut taxes and raise spending on public services, especially in an election year. The essential but less voter-friendly boosts for defence are likely to fall by the wayside.