Britains New Own Nuclear Weapon ?

[BROF]

In the context of providing nuclear weapons for other European states a tactical system has the strongest case.
Frankly even with F-35A being a LO platform, free fall bombs seem a highly risky system to still be using.

Granted the likes of Germany will be able to throw dedicated SEAD/DEAD into a package to deliver such. It's still a very vulnerable approach in the face of modern air defences.

The French have competently moved away from that to stand-off missiles of very high speed. Which I think is a sound move.

And likely of specific interest to Sweden.

The US was intending to do something similar with SLAM and the UK was to follow as the successor to WE.177.

Much as a nuclear ATACMS option to succeed Lance seems a sound tactical system. Though the alternative was ground launched SLAM.
One that unlike aircraft can be deployed and dispersed effectively to provide assurance of a enduring nuclear response to a tactical use or facing overwhelming conventional force, for an ally in need of that assurance.

France ought to have kept Hadés and if it had, deploy to Poland and Romania at this time.

These then seem solid areas for these nuclear weapons states to step up and provide for European NATO in place of the US. Using the preexisting arrangements in treaties.

The last is more controversial, but I think both states should revisit a nuclear warhead for torpedoes as a counter to the Kanyon system.

Why "Sweden", of course "US" and "UK", and then "the French", as an ethnicity? Is using "France" a problem?

 

[zen]

I think this is why reusing the primary with a different secondary makes more sense.

 

[zen]

Resuscitation thanks to JFC Fuller's kindly sharing a piece on the aborted successor to WE.177.

From which we can see potential arguments for a total of upto 230 such weapons and debate over the benefits of various delivery systems.
Chiefly aeroballistic SRAM-T and SLAT derivative.
Though the ASMP could have swung things, it's really only viable in light of switching from alignment with the US on nuclear weapons to alignment with France.
ASLP seems be a strong lure but the risks and uncooperative nature of parts of the French establishment and Aerospatial guaranteed it was not to be.

 

[zen]

I asked Google AI
"how long would it take to build a rocket fuel production plant uk?"

It answered.
Building a specialized rocket fuel production plant in the UK, including planning, regulatory approval, and construction, would typically take 3 to 7+ years, depending on the scale and type of propellant. Specialized production facilities, such as the Skyrora engine manufacturing and testing facility in North Lanarkshire, demonstrate that tailored infrastructure development requires major logistics.
• Fast Track/Smaller Facility: 2-3 years, assuming existing industrial infrastructure, pre-existing site permissions, and established supply chains.
• Large-Scale/New Build: 5-7+ years, involving site sourcing, hazardous site licensing, environmental impact assessments, and facility construction.
Key Factors Influencing Time:
• Regulatory Hurdles: The UK requires compliance with strict Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulations regarding hazardous substances and environmental impact assessments, which can extend timelines.
• Facility Complexity: High-grade propellant manufacturing (e.g., hydrogen peroxide, kerosene-based fuels) requires specialized chemical storage and transport equipment.
• Facility Purpose: Manufacturing and testing (like that in Cumbernauld) adds complexity compared to simple storage or small-scale propellant blending.
• Site Acquisition: Securing a brownfield site with suitable access and utility capacity is essential to meet this timeline.

So arguably if the will was there, Parliament to wave off regulatory hurdles of licensing and environmental impact and we might compress a plant build to coming online in 3-4 years.

Which implies we might only need to soldier on with extent Trident for 5-7 years dependent on testing/qualification process.

A figure £50-£100 million is reasonable.

On the aeroshell. Probing with Google...

Current contract is $76.8 million to TexTech Engineered Composites

Domestic Capability Development (2026): The UK has invested in a dedicated pilot facility for exotic composite materials for hypersonic and re-entry vehicles, with DSTL investing approximately £350,000 via the MoD’s Chief Scientific Adviser to set up a facility with partners including Cross Manufacturing, the University of Oxford, and the National Composites Centre.

Tritium-deuterium bottles and handling seems a more opaque issue.

 

[zen]

Relevent to this topic, Ukraine has been working with Denmark to establish large scale rocket fuel production in Denmark.
Post 144
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...pment-and-deployment.39849/page-4#post-897306
Notable is how quickly this plant will come online to large scale production from agreement to proceed.
2 years with Denmark waving away administrative barriers and with Ukrainian rocket industry staff intimately involved.

Implication being from decision to production ready for testing, replacement lower stages of Trident could be firing on a test stand in 2 years under the right conditions.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Relevent to this topic, Ukraine has been working with Denmark to establish large scale rocket fuel production in Denmark.
Post 144
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...pment-and-deployment.39849/page-4#post-897306
Notable is how quickly this plant will come online to large scale production from agreement to proceed.
2 years with Denmark waving away administrative barriers and with Ukrainian rocket industry staff intimately involved.

Implication being from decision to production ready for testing, replacement lower stages of Trident could be firing on a test stand in 2 years under the right conditions.

Wow, that's quick!

 

[TorpedoJ]

Relevent to this topic, Ukraine has been working with Denmark to establish large scale rocket fuel production in Denmark.
Post 144
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...pment-and-deployment.39849/page-4#post-897306
Notable is how quickly this plant will come online to large scale production from agreement to proceed.
2 years with Denmark waving away administrative barriers and with Ukrainian rocket industry staff intimately involved.

Implication being from decision to production ready for testing, replacement lower stages of Trident could be firing on a test stand in 2 years under the right conditions.

How heavy is FP-9 though? 800kg payload to 900km doesn't sound like much relative to the 30,000kg Trident. The British Nightfall, if that is still a thing after the DIP, is 200kg to 500kg so we could set that up very quickly and then ramp up.

 

[zen]

How heavy is FP-9 though? 800kg payload to 900km doesn't sound like much relative to the 30,000kg Trident. The British Nightfall, if that is still a thing after the DIP, is 200kg to 500kg so we could set that up very quickly and then ramp up.

Well they be saying "The Ukrainian company Fire Point plans to produce solid rocket fuel in Denmark for the whole of Europe."
And so the question we need to ask is what was/is the deficit in rocket fuel that this plant will cover?

But equally it shows if we in the UK want to re-establish large scale rocket fuel production, the main thing holding us back is our own administrative procedures.

Which matches revelations that infrastructure takes so long and costs so much not because of skills shortages or components shortages, or financing the actual build.
But jumping through a myriad of administrative procedures, all the product of legislation.
Right down to environmental impact studies holding things up over the assessment of it's effect on local bats. Not joking!

A literal army of office people, Civil Servants, lawyers, accountants, bog things down in laws and procedures specifically made to force their employment in slowing the actual realisation down.

A huge middle class money making machine. Careers and lifestyles funded by a form of administrative corruption.

A66 is just 18 miles of road. It's taken over 25 years to widen it into a dual carriageway and cost £1.3 Billion! Still not finished last I heard.

The actual building is at best 20% of that cost and a year of time to achieve if that.

Now additional.
800kg for one rocket.
How many rockets per year?