A Trident missile misfired and crashed into the ocean and almost hit a Vanguard-class nuclear missile submarine from where it was launched in a recent launch test of the UK's nuclear deterrent.
The British Ministry of Defense confirmed that the incident happened during a Jan. 30 exercise involving the HMS Vanguard while off the coast of Florida.
The crew successfully completed its drill after the Trident 2 missile was propelled off the surface of the ocean by compressed gas in the launch tube. However, the missile's first-stage boosters did not ignite, causing it to splash into the ocean and sink.
The missile was fitted with dummy warheads.
"It left the submarine but it just went plop, right next to them," a British defense source told The Sun on the condition of anonymity.
The Vanguard launched the test missile under the surface but was not hit by the missile as it plunged back into the Atlantic.
It was also revealed that British Defense Minister Grant Shapps and First Sea Lord Adm. Ben Key were board the Vanguard during the failed test.
Second Time Failure
A frantic probe immediately began to find out what went wrong and a search was ordered to recover the classified missile technology from the seabed off the coast of Port Canaveral in the US's Florida state.
The launch test failure was the second in a row for the Royal Navy since 2016 when a Trident fired from HMS Vengeance veered off course and self-destructed.
Despite the setback, British defense officials insisted that they were confident that the misfire was "event specific" and would not jeopardize the whole nuclear missile submarine fleet, which was composed of four Vanguard-class submarines, all of which have been in operation beyond its service life.
Crucially, it was understood that had the firing taken place on a real patrol mission rather than under test conditions, it would have been successful.
However, no further details were being made public about what went wrong on the grounds of "national security," despite calls from the opposition Labour Party to improve the development of the UK's nuclear deterrent.
"HMS Vanguard and her crew have been proven fully capable of operating the UK's Continuous At-Sea Deterrent, passing all tests during a recent demonstration and shakedown operation (DASO) - a routine test to confirm that the submarine can return to service following deep maintenance work," a Whitehall statement shared to local media said. "The UK's nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and effective."
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