The facts behind Trident

The UK government is due to vote this evening on whether or not the country's nuclear deterrent, Trident, should be renewed. Beside the obvious moral implications of such a vote, at an expected cost of at least 31 billion pounds to replace the four soon to be decommissioned submarines, even MPs in favour of keeping a nuclear arsenal will be mulling over the pros and cons of such a significant financial commitment.

Since 1969 there has been, at any one time, a so-called Continuous At Sea Deterrence (CASD) tasked with protecting the United Kingdom's sovereignty in the event of an attack of similar magnitude from one of the globes other nuclear powers. The fleet of four subs is now due to be replaced, should the government vote in favour of the plan.

Once in-service, the vessels are forecast to cost around six percent of the UK's total defence budget. The question being asked by many today is, is it worth it?