UK SSBN replacement?
The UK Parliamentary defence select committee has put forward a new estimate for the replacement of Trident...at an eye-watering £167 billion! While that can be rationalised to a much smaller figure if divided yearly over the forty-odd years of the project, it's still a huge number. Another issue is the question of how visible submarines might be by 2050; it's possible in the next decade or two they may become very visible to relatively inexpensive sensors. I'm pro-deterrent but not at any price and these are big numbers. The Israelis, for instance, mount a fully credible deterrent for what must be a tiny fraction of this. Is there a cheaper way?