UK Trident programme

The UK Trident programme encompasses the development, procurement and operation of the current generation of British nuclear weapons, and the means to deliver them.

Trident itself is an operational system of four Vanguard-class submarines armed with Trident II D-5 ballistic missiles, able to deliver thermonuclear warheads from multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs). It is the most expensive and the most powerful capability of the British military forces.

Operated by the Royal Navy and based at Clyde Naval Base on Scotland's west coast, at least one submarine is always on patrol to provide a continuous at-sea capability. Under the terms of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, each will be armed with a maximum of eight missiles and 40 warheads, although their capacity is much larger.

The UK Trident programme was announced in July 1980, and patrols began in December 1994. Since 1998, Trident has been the only British nuclear weapon system in service. Its stated purpose is to provide "the minimum effective nuclear deterrent as the ultimate means to deter the most extreme threat."

Nuclear strategy

Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons.

As a sub-branch of military strategy, nuclear strategy attempts to match nuclear weapons as means to political ends. In addition to the actual use of nuclear weapons whether in the battlefield or strategically, a large part of nuclear strategy involves their use as a bargaining tool.

Some of the issues considered within nuclear strategy include:

Many strategists argue that nuclear strategy differs from other forms of military strategy because the immense and terrifying power of the weapons makes their use in seeking victory in a traditional military sense impossible.

Perhaps counterintuitively, an important focus of nuclear strategy has been determining how to prevent and deter their use, a crucial part of mutual assured destruction.

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime minister is the presiding member and chairman of the cabinet. In a minority of systems, notably in semi-presidential systems of government, a prime minister is the official who is appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of the head of state.

In parliamentary systems fashioned after the Westminster system, the prime minister is the presiding and actual head of government and head of the executive branch. In such systems, the head of state or the head of state's official representative (i.e. the monarch, president, or governor-general) usually holds a largely ceremonial position, although often with reserve powers.

The prime minister is often, but not always, a member of parliament and is expected with other ministers to ensure the passage of bills through the legislature. In some monarchies the monarch may also exercise executive powers (known as the royal prerogative) that are constitutionally vested in the crown and may be exercised without the approval of parliament.

Trident

A trident /ˈtraɪdənt/ is a three-pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the god of the sea in classical mythology. In Hindu mythology it is the weapon of Shiva, known as trishula (Sanskrit for "triple-spear").

Etymology

The word "trident" comes from the French word trident, which in turn comes from the Latin word tridens or tridentis: tri "three" and dentes "teeth". Sanskrit trishula is compound of tri त्रि "three""thorn".

The Greek equivalent is τρίαινα (tríaina), from Proto-Greek trianja (threefold).

Uses

In Greek, Roman, and Hindu mythology, the trident is said to have the power of control over the ocean.

Fishing

Tridents for fishing usually have barbed tines which trap the speared fish firmly. In the Southern and Midwestern United States, gigging is used for harvesting suckers, bullfrogs, flounder, and many species of rough fish.

Combat

The trident, known as dangpa, is featured as a weapon in the 17th- to 18th-century systems of Korean martial arts.

The Trident

The Trident (54°10′S 37°5′W / 54.167°S 37.083°W / -54.167; -37.083Coordinates: 54°10′S 37°5′W / 54.167°S 37.083°W / -54.167; -37.083) is Poseidon's(Angel Gabriel Garcia's) ridge surmounted by three peaks, the highest 1,335 m, standing at the east side of Briggs Glacier in South Georgia, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The name is descriptive of the three peaks and was given by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) following survey by the SGS in the period 1951-57.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document "The Trident" (content from the Geographic Names Information System).