UK lobbying US Congress in support of a controversial new warhead for Trident missiles

The United Kingdom is lobbying in the United States Congress to get the initial funding for W93 programme under which the NATO allies are developing 'independent' but similar nuclear warheads. According to reports, the United Kingdom has urged the US Congress to support initial funding of the programme, which was revealed after a letter by UK Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace to the Congress was seen by The Guardian, which further wrote about it. The United Kingdom is rushing to secure the initial funding from the Congress because of the upcoming elections in the United States, fearing that if Trump's opponent Joe Biden wins, he would hold or even cancel the programme. 

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According to reports, Wallace in his letter to the Congress wrote that the programme is important because it will display transatlantic unity and solidarity between the two nations and will also ensure that the unique nuclear relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States deepens. Wallace further added that the programme will help the United Kingdom provide safe and assured continuous at-sea deterrence for many more years to come. The latest development came as the initial funding for the W93 programme has been halted in the US Congress with the House energy and water subcommittee blocking it temporarily last month despite it getting an important nod from the House and Senate armed services committees. 

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W93 programme

There is not much information about the W93 programme on public portals but as per reports, it is going to be the first new warhead design in the United States' stockpile since the cold war era. Media reports also suggest that the W93 will be of higher yield than the current W76, which is believed to be six times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. This comes as the United States is pushing for an arms control agreement with Russia and China. 

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