Personnel Shortage Places Britain’s Nuclear Deterrent at Risk

Britain faces risk of losing its nuclear deterrent because of a lack of qualified personnel to man its submarines.

According to a Ministry of Defense risk register report, the Royal Navy’s “inability to recruit, retain and develop” qualified manpower will cripple its Defense Nuclear Program. Officials admit that the country has not trained enough nuclear engineers. Nuclear engineers have become highly demanded by the civilian nuclear sector, and the navy is finding it difficult to attract new recruits.

The report anticipates a 15 percent decrease in naval staff over the next three years. Even now, some vessels are being dispatched with only 85 percent of submariner staff capacity. “One in seven weapons officer posts ranked at lieutenant will also be vacant in the coming years, meaning there may not be enough people to fire weapons,” wrote the Mail Online.

This staff shortage may leave the navy’s fleet of six attack submarines and four boats that carry the Trident nuclear missiles stranded in port. The Trident is Britain’s only nuclear weapon system in service.

Former Royal Navy head Adml Lord West described the situation as “very worrying.” It could put Britain out of the “nuclear weapons business,” as Nuclear Information Service director, Peter Burt, noted.

Disarmament activists may hail this development as positive. Our article “Disarmament Leads to War” explains otherwise.