In the early 1980's the UK government decided to proceed with the procurement of the Trident II weapon system with the D5 missile and four ballistic missile nuclear powered submarines. The first of the SSBN Vanguard class of submarine, HMS Vanguard, was launched in March 1992.
HMS Vanguard displaces 15,900 tonnes submerged and has the capacity to carry 16 Trident missiles, each with a range of over 11,000 km. She is fitted with four 21 inch torpedo tubes (for Tigerfish and Spearfish torpedoes). The submarines main nuclear powered propulsion system is based on the Rolls-Royce PWR 2.
