NATO Embarrassment As Nuclear Missile Test Ends In Failure

A test firing of a British Trident missile has failed for a second time, raising questions about the effectiveness of the NATO ally's nuclear deterrent.

The British Defense Ministry said there was an "anomaly" during a test on January 30, and declined to provide further information, citing national security concerns.

The first stage boosters did not ignite after the missile was fired from the submarine HMS Vanguard, meaning the missile hit the surface of the water and sank, according to The Sun newspaper, which first reported the unsuccessful launch.

"It left the submarine but it just went plop, right next to them," an anonymous source told the paper. The missile used dummy warheads for the test, and a search effort was quickly launched close to the Florida coast, the newspaper reported.

London said the failure was "event specific," and that there were "no implications" for how reliable the wider Trident nuclear deterrent is.

The failure is an embarrassing incident for the U.K. Defense Ministry, and Grant Shapps, the Defense Secretary, was reportedly onboard to witness the test from Vanguard along with the head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Ben Key.

It is understood that there are no further tests planned in the near future.

"The issue that occurred during the test was specific to the event and would not have occurred during a live armed fire," a defense source close to the Defense Secretary told the BBC.

Trident is Britain's constant at-sea nuclear deterrent, made up of four Vanguard-class submarines that can fire Trident II D5 ballistic missiles. Vanguard has just finished up a costly and lengthy refurbishment, and the submarine and her crew passed "all tests during a recent demonstration and shakedown operation (DASO)," to confirm the submarine can return to service, the British Defense Ministry said.

A Trident missile test also failed in 2016, when the submarine HMS Vengeance launched a Trident II D5 missile off the Florida coast. Defense sources told The Guardian in 2017 that the information relayed to the missile was faulty, causing it to veer off in the wrong direction.

"There was a major panic at the highest level of government and the military after the first test of our nuclear deterrent in four years ended in disastrous failure," an anonymous naval source told The Sunday Times in 2017.

British officials described Trident as the "most reliable weapons system in the world" that had undergone more than 190 tests.

"The test has reaffirmed the effectiveness of the UK's nuclear deterrent, in which we have absolute confidence," the ministry said in a statement. "The UK's nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and effective."

The effectiveness of the nuclear deterrent hinges on ensuring the country's adversaries fear the damage an attack from the Trident system would do.

Update 2/21/24 at 6:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.