UK to announce 1-bn-pound Nuke sub deal - Zee News

Zeenews Bureau

London: In a major push to build next generation nuclear submarines, Britain is all set to announce this week a 1 billion pound (USD 1.57 billion) contract, the Defence Minister said on Sunday.

As per the confirmation given by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, a deal for engines, that would replace the current Vanguard fleet carrying Trident nuclear missiles, would be unveiled by him.

There is a high possibility that the decision could cause a new rift in Britain's coalition government, with Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives in favour of keeping Trident but the Liberal Democrats wanting a cheaper alternative.

"What we're going to be announcing is a commitment to the major refurbishment of the plant at Rolls-Royce in Derby which builds these core reactors, not just for the nuclear deterrent submarines but also for our attack submarines, the Astute class submarines," Hammond said.