Lockheed Martin has been awarded an $850 million contract to extend the operational life of the nuclear weapons used by British and American ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).
The American firm revealed the U.S. Navy has awarded it the cash under a contract modification to continue design and development of the Trident II D5 Life Extension 2 (D5LE2) programme.
First developed in the 1980s, the weapon system has already undergone one life extension cycle, which was completed in 2017.
Vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Fleet Ballistic Missile Programme Eric Scherff commented: “Lockheed Martin is fully committed to the mission as we move forward into this next phase. This award marks another important step along the way as we continue delivering a credible and resilient deterrent for the American forces and allies.”
Submarine-launched ballistic missiles make up the entirety of Britain’s nuclear deterrent via the Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD) policy provided by the Royal Navy’s Vanguard-class submarines. They also represent about 70 percent of American deployed strategic deterrent capability.
The Royal Navy’s Vanguard-class SSBNs and U.S. Navy Ohio-class are both armed from a shared pool of Trident missiles. Both will eventually carry the D5LE2 Trident II weapons, probably well into the 2080s.
Before the next-generation D5LE2 missiles come on line, the weapon system will undergo its forthcoming Increment 8 upgrade cycle.
Increment 8 is due to begin roll-out across both fleets in October this year. Also overseen by Lockheed Martin, the $3 billion revamp is largely focused on updated on-board navigation systems. It will cover both the legacy U.S. Ohio and U.K. Vanguard fleets, as well as the incoming U.S. Columbia and U.K. Dreadnought platforms.
Lockheed Martin said it is recruiting more personnel to work on the D5LE2 programme, in locations across the U.S. including Colorado, Florida, Utah, Washington, Georgia and in and around Washington DC.
- You can read more details on the Lockheed Martin website
