Editing Trident (missile) (section)

===D5LE (D5 Life Extension Program)===
In 2002, the United States Navy announced plans to extend the life of the submarines and the D5 missiles to the year 2040.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Navy Awards Lockheed Martin $248 Million Contract for Trident II D5 Missile Production and D5 Service Life Extension |publisher=Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company |date=29 January 2002 |url=http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2002/NavyAwardsLockheedMartin248MillionC.html |access-date=2009-01-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227182711/http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2002/NavyAwardsLockheedMartin248MillionC.html |archive-date=27 February 2009 }}</ref> This requires a D5 Life Extension Program (D5LEP), which is currently underway. The main aim is to replace obsolete components at minimal cost{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} by using commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware; all the while maintaining the demonstrated performance of the existing Trident II missiles. In 2007, [[Lockheed Martin]] was awarded a total of $848 million in contracts to perform this and related work, which also includes upgrading the missiles' reentry systems.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite press release |title=Defence.gov: Contracts for Monday 26th November 2007 |publisher=US DoD |date=26 November 2007 |url=http://www.defense.gov/Contracts/Contract.aspx?ContractID=3654 |access-date=2010-07-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829064918/http://www.defense.gov/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=3654 |archive-date=29 August 2010}}</ref> On the same day, Draper Labs was awarded $318 million for upgrade of the guidance system.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Then-British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] outlined plans in Parliament on 4 December 2006 to build a new generation of submarines ([[Dreadnought-class submarine|Dreadnought-class]]) to carry existing Trident missiles, and join the D5LE project to refurbish them.<ref>{{cite news |work = [[BBC News]] |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6205174.stm |title = UK nuclear weapons plan unveiled |date= 4 December 2006|access-date  = 2012-11-23|url-status= live|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121108031010/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6205174.stm|archive-date = 8 November 2012}}</ref>

The first flight test of a D-5 LE subsystem, the MK 6 Mod 1 guidance system, in [[Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO)|Demonstration and Shakedown Operation]] (DASO)-23,<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1eFhUMSJ9s |title= DASO 23 Video |publisher   = US Navy |date= 22 February 2012 |access-date  = 2012-12-14 |url-status= live |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121012182154/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1eFhUMSJ9s |archive-date = 12 October 2012}}</ref> took place on {{USS|Tennessee|SSBN-734|6}} on 22 February 2012.<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://www.public.navy.mil/subfor/underseawarfaremagazine/Issues/Archives/issue_48/USW_SPRING%2012_FINAL.pdf |journal= Undersea Warfare Magazine |title= Back to the Future with Trident Life Extension|publisher  = US Navy |date       = Spring 2012 |access-date = 2012-12-14}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> This was almost exactly 22 years after the first Trident II missile was launched from ''Tennessee'' in February 1990.{{fact|date=April 2025}}