Trident missile launch from HMS Vengeance

The fourth British Vanguard class submarine, HMS Vengeance, launched a Trident missile near the Port Canaveral range area at 2150 (BST) on Thursday 21 September. The missile cost the British taxpayer £20 million.

HMS Vengeance is expected to shortly pick up 16 missiles from the US Navy base at Kings Bay in Georgia. Nuclear warheads will be loaded onto the missiles at Coulport on Loch Long later this year. The submarine is due to become operational early in 2001.

The missiles on HMS Vanguard were probably unloaded at Kings Bay earlier in the year. Vanguard was originally due to go into refit at Devonport this year, but construction work at the new refit complex is 2 years behind schedule.