Can we fire our own Nukes?

[R1Geezer]

In other threads the usual anti British contributors often say that we would need USA permission to fire our nukes. This is a view I also sometimes get from other sources, I can find nothing to support this, even UN resolutions or even "gentlemens agreement etc" Is it the case? Here is a discussion involving some Americans that seems to say that there is no reason why we could not:
http://www.wikilaw3k....-own-nukes-313406.htm
This is purely a hypothetical I don't want to induce a debate about the need or not ok.

[sandyRoe]

Can you imagine a situation when we'd want to fire them? Acting independently of the USA, I mean.

[McMouse]

I don't know about Trident but it would not surprise me if the US provided a part of a launch code. It is certainly a fact that the US has withheld source code for software on weapons systems we have purchased from them thus stopping us doing modifications to suit our requirements.

[jno]

yes, we're a sovereign nation. The question is, would we? I can't see us doing anything much military without telling allies first - this would include other Nato countries too. We went it more or less alone at Suez and got egg on our faces because the USA declined to join in - Eisenhower thought it was a put-up job and he was right.

[Zeuhl]

Wiki-do-da says:

"The precise details of how a British Prime Minister would authorise a nuclear strike remain secret, although the principles of the Trident control system is believed to be based on the plan set up for Polaris in 1968, which has now been declassified. A closed-circuit television system was set up between 10 Downing Street and the Polaris Control Officer at the Northwood headquarters of the Royal Navy. Both the Prime Minister and the Polaris Control Officer would be able to see each other on their monitors when the command was given. If the link failed – for instance during a nuclear attack or when the PM was away from Downing Street – the Prime Minister would send an authentication code which could be verified at Northwood. The Commander in Chief would then broadcast a firing order to the Polaris submarines via the Very Low Frequency radio station at Rugby."

.

[Zeuhl]

Sorry Geezer

meant to add, no apparent reference to codes from USA.

.

[R1Geezer]

sandy, that's why it's a hypothetical question, I don't want to debate the whys's and where fores.

McMouse, if we can crack enigma we can disassemble code back to source, that wouldn't stop us. Are you familair with the nature of software?

Jno, not saying we would really just want to clear up this idea that we'd need permission!

Thanks Zeuhl,

Right well perhaps Jake will be along soon to explain his statement in the Iran thread.

[jake-the-peg]

My statement is not a technical but rather a diplomatic one.

During the Suez Crisis Eisenhower cut off US oil supplies to Europe and I believe blackmailed Eden that hed sell the entire US reserve of Stirling.

And that was a conventional action.

The reality is that any British PM that tried to launch nuclear weapons without US approval would face terrible retribution and everybody knows that.

Were this a Euopean issue then things might be different.

Europe is big enough to stand up to the US

The UK is not

[McMouse]

I am familiar with s/w R1G, yes we could disassemble, but that would contravene the US copyright on this stuff. If we went ahead and did mods without getting pukka source code US would just block supplies of essential spares etc.

[R1Geezer]

If it came to it we wouldn't be worrying about copyright! Not even sure if machine code is copyrightable.