Editing Trident (missile) (section)

===Trident II (D5) UGM-133A===
[[File:Trident II missile image.jpg|upright|thumb|A Trident II missile fires its first stage after an underwater launch from a [[Royal Navy]] {{sclass|Vanguard|submarine|0}} [[ballistic missile submarine]].]]
{{main|UGM-133 Trident II}}
The second variant of the Trident is more sophisticated and can carry a heavier payload. It is accurate enough to be a [[Pre-emptive nuclear strike|first strike]], [[counterforce]], or [[second strike]] weapon.  All three stages of the Trident II are made of [[Carbon fiber reinforced polymer|graphite epoxy]], making the missile much lighter. The Trident II was the original missile on the British ''Vanguard''-class and American ''Ohio''-class SSBNs from ''Tennessee'' on. The D5 missile is currently carried by fourteen ''Ohio''-class and four ''Vanguard''-class SSBNs. There have been 191 successful test flights of the D5 missile since design completion in 1989, the most recent being from {{USS| Louisiana |SSBN-743|6}} in September 2023. <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cpf.navy.mil/Newsroom/News/Article/3542092/uss-louisiana-proves-readiness-of-unmatched-strategic-weapons-system/ |title= USS Louisiana Proves Readiness of Unmatched Strategic Weapons System |publisher=U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs Public Affairs |date=28 September 2023|access-date=7 October 2024}}</ref> There have been fewer than 10 test flights that were failures,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/23/theresa-may-briefed-trident-missile-test-allegedly-misfired2/ |title=US Trident failure claims contradict Michael Fallon |first1=Kate |last1=McCann |first2=Peter |last2=Dominiczak |first3=Steven |last3=Swinford |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=23 January 2017 |access-date=26 January 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125175326/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/23/theresa-may-briefed-trident-missile-test-allegedly-misfired2/ |archive-date=25 January 2017}}</ref> the most recent being from {{HMS|Vanguard|S28|6}} in January 2024. This is the second failure in a row for the Royal Navy after a launch from {{HMS|Vengeance|S31|6}}, one of Britain's four nuclear-armed submarines, off the coast of Florida in June 2016.<ref name="UKDJ2017">{{cite web|title=How serious was the Trident missile test failure?|url=https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/serious-trident-missile-test-failure/|publisher=UK Defence Journal|access-date=24 January 2017|date=22 January 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202015319/https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/serious-trident-missile-test-failure/|archive-date=2 February 2017}}</ref>

The [[Royal Navy]] operates their missiles from a shared pool, together with the Atlantic squadron of the [[U.S. Navy]] ''Ohio''-class SSBNs at [[Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay|King's Bay, Georgia]]. The pool is 'co-mingled' and missiles are selected at random for loading on to either nation's submarines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukdjcdn-b4d.kxcdn.com/uploads/2014/07/UK-Nuclear-Deterrent-FOI-Response.pdf|title=Freedon of information request about the UK nuclear deterrent|date=19 July 2005|access-date=25 January 2017|publisher=Ministry of Defence|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030002309/https://ukdjcdn-b4d.kxcdn.com/uploads/2014/07/UK-Nuclear-Deterrent-FOI-Response.pdf|archive-date=30 October 2016}}</ref>