Anomaly occurred with British ballistic missile VIDEO

On January 30, the British Navy conducted an unsuccessful test launch of a Trident II D5 ballistic missile from the nuclear submarine HMS Vanguard.

After the launch the missile deviated from its course and fell next to the submarine in which British Defense Minister Grant Shapps was located, The Sun reports, citing a source.

According to The Sun's source, the training mission took place in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. It was assumed that Trident II D5 would fly 6 thousand km to hit a given target in the central Atlantic between Brazil and West Africa. Head of the Navy Admiral Ben Key was also on board HMS Vanguard, The Sun writes. The circumstances of the incident are being clarified.

In a statement, the UK Ministry of Defense, quoted by The Sun, said that during the exercise on January 30, “an anomaly occurred.”

“The test has reaffirmed the effectiveness of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, in which we have absolute confidence. During the test, an anomaly occurred.

As a matter of national security, we cannot provide further information on this, however, we are confident that the anomaly was event specific, and therefore there are no implications for the reliability of the wider Trident missile systems and stockpile,” the defence department said.

The launch was carried out from the submarine HMS Vanguard, which had recently been repaired.