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Originally Posted by Letum
You think the UK would put it's nuclear weapons in the hands of the US?
I doubt it.
Who knows, it might be you we are launching against.
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I think the U.K. is more likely to nuke Lesotho than it ever is to nuke the U.S.
And yes, I do think it is a possibility. There is an awful lot of cooperation and framework for joint operations shared between the militaries of the U.S. and the U.K.
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Originally Posted by August
You guys ought to remember that while a terrorist group or third world country might (someday) be able to deliver a nuke it'd hardly be strong enough to completely obliterate a country the size of GB to the point there isn't anyone senior enough to give their sub captains intel and instructions.
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Like I said, it's probably also, and moreso, designed to provide launch capability in the event of a large-scale nuclear exchange, not just a lucky strike by some terrorists or a rogue nation.
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Originally Posted by Fatty
That said, I agree with Letum. I bet if not a post held by someone on the British Isles then it's in the hands of some governor on an overseas territory like the Virgin Islands which have no strategic value and are not worth expending a missile on. They're appointed by HM the Queen so I guess they're people.
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Maybe, but there's also the possibility that the Russians already know about that post and it is a target.
All I'm trying to say is that the U.K. bothered to make a policy to govern the launch of nuclear weapons in the event that proper authorization isn't possible, they are probably considering a scenario where the nation's command structure and communications abilities are destroyed. There are only a few nations capable/remotely likely to do that to the U.K., and most of them are Russia.
So if your comms are shot, and you're in a nuclear war with Russia, and the Prime Minister and lots of other important people are dead, the best shot at launching an effective retalitory strike is letting the U.S. launch your missiles. For one thing, the U.S. will be launching its' missiles as well, and yours won't do a lot of good if they hit the same spots that ours do. You've only got like 200 of them, and that isn't nearly enough to neutralize Russia, even if she acts alone.
The U.S. has like 4,000 nukes, a comprehensive array of military communications sattellites, god knows how many nuclear command/control installations, and has much greater launch detection capability.
For my money, if you're Britain, and you're totally boned and the world is going to hell, you're going to rely on the U.S. And believe it or not, there is a historical precedent for that sort of thing.
