All language subtitles for On.Board.Britains.Nuclear.Submarine.Trident.2020.1080p.HDTV.H264-DARKFLiX_track3_eng

I'm just about to head through
the gates of one of Britain's most

secret military establishments...

...Faslane, on the west coast
of Scotland.

This is Britain's Royal Navy
Submarine Base,

and usually it would be impossible
for me to get in here,

especially with a television camera.

But today is different.

I've been vetted to the highest
level and I've had to sign

the Official Secrets Act...

...because behind this fence
is Britain's most secret

and most powerful weapon of war.

Security at Faslane is tight
because this is the home

of Britain's nuclear
submarine fleet,

and our Trident nuclear missiles.

Welcome to the most secure
operational base in the UK.

We operate from here, a nuclear
deterrent for NATO

and the UK and her allies.

And if you've got that level
of sophistication,

technology and power in one place,

you've really got to protect
it and protect the knowledge

that goes with it.

Over 6,500 people work here
at the base,

but access to the nuclear submarines
is highly controlled.

After months of discussions, I've
been given permission to film

on board one of the UK's
Trident submarines.

So what happens now for me, exactly?

Well, you're going to join HMS
Vengeance going through the last

of her training sessions at sea.

But before we get there, we've got
to go into the secure area,

So I'm going to tell you to cut
the camera now

because you can't film inside
a secure area.

Sorry, yeah.

Some hours later, I'm being taken
out into the Irish Sea,

which is where I'll transfer
to HMS Vengeance.

I don't know where we're heading,
I don't know how long

I'm heading out for here.

I'm...

...l'm really nervous, I don't mind
admitting that at all.

It's there... Right there!

That is HMS Vengeance.

Oh

Unbelievable!

Oh, my word, just look
at the size of it.

HMS Vengeance is 150 metres long...

...and weighs 15,000 tonnes.

She's one of four Vanguard
class submarines.

Ready t0 go on?
Yeah, if you're happy.

Thank you.

In just a few clays, HMS Vengeance
will begin her patrol...

...where she takes over as the UK's
nuclear deterrent.

She'll disappear deep into the ocean

in case our nuclear missiles
are ever called upon.

Big box.

It's not heavy, like,
it's just cumbersome.

Happy for me to go down?

Yeah, thank you.

Now...

Yeah.

All right, this is it then,
there is no turning back now.

Last breaths of fresh air.

God!

For four clays and nights,
I'll be living with the crew

on the final leg of their
undersea preparations...

INAUDIBLE CHATTER

...before they head off on their
tour of duty.

OK, at ease...

I've already been told that
I won't see everything.

So much on this boat is
classified as top secret.

Captain Darren Mason is in charge
of HMS Vengeance.

It's his first time in command
of a Trident submarine.

Hello. Well, come on in.

I thought I'd better
come and let you know

I am here, yes. Firstly,
welcome to the submarine.

Thank you very much for having
me on board.

It's fantastic to see you, well,
welcome to HMS Vengeance.

So what I thought we'd do, is show
you around the submarine in a bit.

But first things first, show you
where we control the submarine from,

affectionately known
as the control room.

Yeah, thank you very much.

What should I call you? What should
I refer to you as?

Most of my ship's company
just address me as Captain.

I will call you Captain.
That will be brilliant, Rob.

I will call you, Rob. Please do.

So this is a control room.

It's effectively the nerve centre
of the submarine.

Look at this.

On the left-hand side, this is where
all the information

gets fed into these terminals.

And then the team in front
of you use their knowledge,

their wisdom and their experience
to take that information

to draw me, effectively, a picture
of what's going outside,

all without physically seeing it.

It's very stable, on bored.

I mean, I don't feel like we're
rocking round,

we are gently moving, I seem to
remember, through the water?

Absolutely, we're going about
walking pace at the moment.

So we're not going to outrun
anyone at the moment.

But she can go quite fast
if she needs to,

but the faster we go, the more
risks of detection exists.

The whole idea, the whole
credibility of the nuclear deterrent

is stealth and slowly,
slowly catchy monkey.

Battle, tile, starboard.

At this point, all the screens
and lights and flashing lights

going around here, it is quite
dark inside, isn't it?

Yeah, so the only real place you're
ever going to see any daylight,

I'm afraid, is up on the fin,
which is an icon position

where we navigate, where
we're on the surface.

So if we can go up there now
and I'll show you some fresh air,

perhaps the last time
for a little while.

That sounds like an invitation
I can't refuse.

The conning tower is the highest
point on a submarine.

To get there, I need to climb
the longest ladder on board.

So I'm up for probably one
of the most unique views

I've ever have in my life.

But it is straight up.

Oh, God, it's miles as well.

Oh, knees.

Right, Captain, you've brought
me up to what is almost

the highest point
on the boat here.

I mean, it's an opportunity
well, for me anyway,

to get a bit of a glimpse
of the scale of this boat.

It stretches back so far.

It's hard to appreciate
just how big this boat is.

Well, absolutely.

She is undoubtedly akin
to an iceberg.

She is a fantastic weapon system...

...she's a fantastic submarine,
she's also home to us all.

Yeah.

She looks after us, feeds us,
keeps us watered

and breathing safely.

HMS Vengeance is home to over
160 submariners,

who work endless shift patterns
of six hours on six hours off.

But because of the secrecy
of their mission,

few people on board will
ever know the details.

How long do you think you're going
to be away from your family

on this particular mission?

I'll be away a while. A while?

We can't be any more specific
than that.

Not now. No. No.
OK, that's that.

And do you know where you're going
to be heading off to?

Somewhere down that direction,
maybe left or maybe right.

But I know where I'm going.

Very few people know where
I'm going.

And that is obviously not at liberty
to be discussed,

especially to your viewers.

I can continue this,
this line of questioning.

I don't think I'm going to get
any further than the generals,

are we, Captain? Probably not.

My team have a vague idea
where we might be.

And over time that becomes more
and more vague.

And that is the whole principle
of deterrent, that only a very few

people know where it is,
therefore our security

and our stealth is absolute.

ET Dooley cited on the bridge.

RADIO CHATTER

Our interview is interrupted.

A foreign warship has been spotted,
approaching our location.

Where to?

Port side.

And it's heading right for us.

HMS Vengeance must now get
under water... Fast.

There's a warship heading
towards us,

and I think we're going to dive
sooner than was originally planned.

To get out of the way and not be
found and not be seen.

Diving now, diving now.

I've been given unprecedented
access to HMS Vengeance,

one of the Royal Navy's four
Trident submarines.

But moments after coming on board,
a foreign warship has been spotted,

heading straight towards us.

The executive officer is Vengeance's
second in command.

He wants to dive the boat.

This is real, this is genuine,
this isn't a drill, or anything.

There is a foreign ship out there
and a risk we would be spotted?

Absolutely, and we don't want to
be spotted on the surface.

We want to be underneath the water
where we can track her

rather than she tracks us.

We're not good on the surface,
where we are good is

underneath the waves, where we can
be quiet, where we can be stealth.

The captain gives the order.

Navigator, diving brief.

Helmsman. Captain, Sir.

Diving summary?

Roger, diving now, diving now.

Half turn.

A submarine the size
of HMS Vengeance

can take up to ten minutes
to completely submerge.

Two down. Leaving the bubble.

We now have one degree of bow
up, so the stern of the boat's

beginning to sink.

Three hands off.

Down planing.

Happy?

With the foreign warship
that was nearby

is that of concern at all?

My objective in command of
HMS Vengeance is to remain

undetected at all times.

Anything that's not me is not
necessarily friendly.

It could be a yacht, it could
be a ferry.

It could be a warship.

Any asset belonging to any country,
I would try and avoid it.

West target set up on your contact,
last merchant vessel

you have left-hand side.

You can see...

It's getting closer towards
us, isn't it?

Oh, we're under.

That's it, the Vanguard's
now underwater.

Roger, not held sonar.

HMS Vengeance is now fully
underwater...

...away from the prying eyes
of the foreign warship.

And I can get my first chance
to properly look around.

How are you doing, all right?
Yeah, very well, thank you.

There's four decks onboard...

...as far as I know, anyway.

And I'm right in the middle here.

Hello. Hello.

Just chilling out. Thank you.
All right. Leave you to it.

I've not been on board very long at
all, and first impressions,

it kind of reminds me of the
International Space Station.

All these pipes and cables and tubes
and panels,

all doing stuff that's obviously
deeply complex.

But the reality is that all of this
very nearly never happened

because just over 100 years ago,

submarines weren't taken
seriously at all.

In the early 20th century, Britain
had the largest Navy

the world had ever seen.

Hundreds of ships maintained an
empire that stretched

from Australia to Canada.

But the one thing the Navy had
little faith in was submarines.

They were notoriously dangerous and
could only stay under water

for a few minutes at a time.

This is Holland 1...

...the Royal Navy's first ever
submarine.

She was built in Barrow-in-Furness
in 1901

and measures just 20 metres
in length.

You could fit around 150
Holland 1's inside HMS Vengeance.

The eight crew could barely stand
and would be enveloped

by exhaust fumes from the petrol
engine.

They couldn't stay under water for
long or they'd suffocate

and the risk of an explosion
was high.

The Royal Navy decided that compared
with their massive surface ships,

submarines weren't worth the effort.

But other navies were
less sceptical.

Germany believed that stealthy subs
could play a pivotal part in war.

They called their submarines
undersea boats,

U - boats.

They were faster, quieter and safer
than anything Britain had tried.

Two weeks into the First World War,
the Germans put them to use.

A loan U-boat stalked British ships
into the Firth of Forth.

It launched a single torpedo at a
British ship,

sinking her and killing over
250 of her crew.

Suddenly, the submarine had become a
genuine weapon of war.

HMS Vengeance has the Spearfish
torpedo system.

With a range some 20 times greater
than the one that caused

so much destruction over
100 years ago,

and with much more sophisticated
technology.

Tell me a bit more about these
torpedoes.

What would you use them for?

So, we'd use these against
submarine targets

and ship surface targets.

They're designed so that they can be
guided from a submarine.

In layman's terms, how big a bang
would these torpedoes make?

Oh, a big enough bang
to sink a ship.

So, there's about 300 kg of
explosives in it.

OK, so that is enough to sink, what,
even some of the biggest warships?

Uh, yeah. There's two different
methods that we can use for that.

Go on, then, what are they?

So, one is where we would...
It would just basically slam

into the side of a target and the
other is where it would

explode underneath and it would
cause an air bubble,

break the back of the ship and,
basically, it would snap it in half.

It would sink.

But torpedoes are only one of the
reasons modern submarines

are now so powerful.

Their ability to see underwater has
revolutionised their effectiveness.

It's called sonar.

Now, what is sonar and
how does it work?

OK, sonar is basically the eyes and
ears of the submarine.

It works by hydrophones that set up
in various locations

around the submarine and we are
listening to a vessel -

a merchant vessel, a fishing vessel
warships, submarine

or whatever it is out there.

And that noise is transmitting from
that vessel onto our hydrophones,

flitting onto our screen.

How do you identify what that
soundis?

A merchant vessel, you feel the
diesel engine rubs in on it

and you'll sometimes be able to hear
the propeller moving.

When it comes to warships,
imagine licking your finger

and rubbing it round the edge of a
wineglass, that whiney sound.

Oh, a much higher pitch?
Yeah, a real high-pitch sound, yeah.

And how far away can you actually
listen?

How far away can you build up a
picture of what else is out there?

It depends on the body of water
you're in.

If you're in deep water, it can
certainly go to 100,000 yards.

Up to 100,000 yards?
Yeah, about 50 nautical miles.

WQW!

The sonar system on HMS Vengeance
is a direct descendant

of the technology that helped
Britain in her darkest hour...

...The Battle of the Atlantic.

In 1939, as World War ll started,

Britain depended on its
Merchant Navy

to bring supplies and ammunition
from abroad.

It was all controlled from this
secret location,

Western Approaches in Liverpool,

and it's here that many believe
World War ll was actually won.

This room was the command centre
which coordinated the trade ships

bringing goods into the UK.

Hitler realised those ships were
vulnerable to submarines.

He ordered his U-boats to attack
with devastating results.

Hundreds of British ships were sunk

and it seemed like Germany might
actually win the war.

Winston Churchill said that Germany
U-boats were the only things

that really frightened him
during the war.

But it was British ingenuity that
helped turn the tide.

By 1943, a forward step in
underwater technology

meant the Royal Navy could track and
destroy the U-boats more frequently.

Today, we know this technology
as sonar.

Erm, right, this in me here, is it?
Yeah, that's you. Yeah, put them on.

I'm intrigued to listen to the
sounds of sonar for myself.

See what I can find, then.

So, what you're listening to now
is a merchant vessel.

I'm listening to a merchant vessel?

That's a merchant vessel right now.
It just sounds like fuzz.

Yeah, to the untrained ear it will
probably sounds like fuzz

but there's a bit of diesel behind
it, can hear a bit of

diesel from the engine.

Hang on.

I'm really trying to hear
diesel in that.

That's different.

It definitely changes as I scroll
through here.

That sounds a lot heavier.

Yeah, I think what you're
listening to there's

like a large merchant vessel.

If you listen really carefully,
you should be able to get

a revolution spinning count,
if you listen.

Is it kind of... Like a rhythmic
beat, yeah, that's it.

This other one I've found here,
then,

sounds a lot higher pitched, almost.

Let me see... Let me hear with that
one.

Yeah, that was it.
That's higher pitched.

That sounds like it's going, like
their revolution is a lot faster.

It'll be a small merchant vessel,
a fishing vessel.

You can hear it's moving much
quicker through the water.

OK, yeah, there's something in
there. Something behind it, yeah.

Something that's identifiable.

But, for me, it's just a continuous
noise.

It is for everyone until they start
doing the training properly.

The younger lads would be able to
crossfire this, no problem.

So, this is my first time sat at any
kind of sonar system like this.

How am I doing, Dale, how's...?

You haven't done bad, Rob, but I
wouldn't give up your day job.

HMS Vengeance needs one of the most
powerful sonar systems

in the world because of what this
submarine carries inside it.

I can't quite get my head around
where I'm stood -

right in the heart of HMS Vengeance.

These are the missile tubes that
house Trident nuclear missiles.

In here are nuclear warheads.

And it's surreal to stand so close
to something so terrifying...

...something so deadly.

I'm on board the Royal Navy's
HMS Vengeance Submarine,

which is carrying Trident
nuclear missiles.

To understand how we got them in the
UK and why they're on board,

we need to go back 50 years.

By the early '60s, Britain was
eager to become a nuclear power.

Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
flew to the Bahamas

to convince President
John F. Kennedy

to share their nuclear missile
secrets.

The deal they struck became known as
the Polaris Sales Agreement.

Britain would be given Polaris
nuclear missiles

and the Americans would gain access
to several Scottish lochs.

But a new challenge immediately
arose.

We needed a place to house and
launch these new nuclear missiles.

It was decided that the only truly
secure place

was deep at sea on a submarine.

50 years ago in 1969, the British
Submarine Service

began carrying nuclear missiles,

becoming the UK's strategic nuclear
deterrent.

HMS Vengeance is the latest
generation of these submarines.

The missiles she carries are
called Trident.

They're the most powerful weapon
Britain has ever had.

These are the Trident nuclear
missiles?

Trident ll D5 nuclear missiles.

Right around us? Yeah.

The weapons engineering officer is
responsible for looking after

Tridents on HMS Vengeance.

How many missiles do we have on
board here, then?

On Vengeance?

Uh, I couldn't tell you that.
OK.

Up to 16. Up to 16?
Yeah.

Do we know how many nuclear warheads
we have on board?

So, we can have up to 40 warheads on
board at one time.

When it comes to these missiles,
is there any way

of describing the amount of
firepower that that is?

I don't know, it's just hard to get
that as a concept.

So, Nagasaki and Hiroshima, if you
think of those... Yeah.

...there's more than both of them put
together around us now. Wow.

Do you ever get used to the fact
you're living and working

around the most deadly weapons
ever created?

That's quite sobering for me
stood here.

I don't know how that is for you.

Yeah, it's...

Yeah, it is.

If he came to it, then, once you
actually press fire,

what actually happens with these
missiles?

How do they work?

So, once the trigger's pressed,
the hatch will open.

Once that opens the missile launches
up into space,

then the bombs, so to speak, will
follow out to the targets.

You are part of that process,
are you, that firing?

So, I'm the end of the firing
chain, yes.

Ultimately, on the end of the
trigger,

starts with the Prime Minister,
finishes with me.

The nuclear deterrent must always be
ready to fire on the orders

of the Prime Minister and at a
moment's notice.

ALARM BEEPS

Panel stations, panel stations.

Panel stations, missile training,
on our guidance

with the launch...

The crew test the nuclear missile
firing procedure

on a regular basis.

All positions secure from returning
the periscope down.

Search condition one, scuba training
with our guidance with launcher.

Captain Darren Mason is authorised
to test fire Trident.

Rogen

What is actually going on here?

OK, so for this, we're simulating
a weapon system readiness test,

which is proving to the outside
authorities that the weapon system

is incredible for its task, which
we're required to do.

So, the weapon system, we're talking
about our...?

Ballistic missile system,
the deterrent.

Our nuclear deterrent?

And by doing so, we've got to battle
stations missile,

which was the general alarm,
the angry doorbell, as we call it.

Why is it important to do
this exercise?

Well, if we didn't do the exercise,
we wouldn't know it worked.

CODED RADIO COMMAND

The encrypted order to test fire is
transmitted

to HMS Vengeance and given to two
of her most senior officers.

The order is printed and carried to
the control room in plain sight,

so there's no possibility it can
be interfered with.

Then, behind a screen,
its contents are decoded.

2.5.

So, the doctor's just give me the
latest update

of the target packages that are in
the computer.

I have just been given the assurance
that my understanding

of what's going on in the
submarine's computer system,

in my little black book, which,
unfortunately,

you can't look at, is exactly the
same as being held

in the weapon system.

So, by comparing and contrasting
this and my black book,

I know categorically the weapon
system is going to do exactly

what I expect it to do.

So four by three metres.

Come on.

Come on at 1SQ.

Shipping 1SQ.

So, the submarine's now been brought
up to a certain launch depth,

and been slowed down, we're now,
ultimately, stopped. Mm.

This 13,000 tonne submarine is
physically stopped in the water,

hovering, which means at 1840
on this clock, on the top,

we will be able to be ready,
in all respects,

to simulate a strike.

And for the purposes of this
exercise,

you will give that command,
will you?

I will give that command.

With the final checks made,
the weapons engineering officer

can pull the test trigger.

Weapons con. My permission to fire
at your 1SQ report.

Con weapons.

Weapon systems ready for
strategic launch.

Weapons con.

Launching condition
1SQ for strategic launch.

Launch of weapons. Roger.

Weapons supervisor, request you...

If it came to it, then, have you
thought through

how you might feel if you had to
pull that trigger, fire the trigger?

That's my job, I've worked long time
to get here,

and if I wasn't going to do what
I was ordered,

then I wouldn't be here.

Ten seconds to launch.

Five, four, three,

two, one...

Bombs away.

Happy with that?

Away.

Permission to fire removed.

...outside.

The test is now complete.

They're coming back down to
a safe depth

and, ultimately, carrying
on with our patrol.

When would you know in the case that
this was a real scenario?

God forbid.

When would you know the time to
fire, to give the order to fire?

That's a very good question.

So, these things don't just happen.
Yeah.

There would be a significant
escalation or deterioration

of political instability. Yep.

We would notice that extra units of
the Royal Navy were at sea,

there would be a whole narrative of
the story developing.

I would expect that I would be
anticipating that the order

to launch might be occurring.

With it comes this enormous
responsibility.

How well does that sit
with you as...

...as a person?

Urn, it's not a conversation I
routinely have with people. Mm.

It is a job I am expected to do.

I'm trusted to hold those keys.

I'm just to deliver that capability.

But have absolute confidence that
when I'm tasked to deliver

that effect, that decision is made
in good faith by the right people,

with the right intelligence,
with the right outcome in mind.

I am simply the tool that delivers
that capability.

Before today, I've never fully
contemplated the end of the world,

but, actually, if it were to happen,
it would play out almost exactly

as I've just seen.

Surrounded as I am by these weapons
of mass destruction,

it would fall to the people I've met
on here to carry out

this most horrific of orders.

That's what resonates with me
and what I find

difficult to reconcile.

That the crew on this sub help
keep us all safe

every single day, but they also
hold this terrifying,

destructive power and unimaginable
responsibility.

For 50 years, they've patrolled in
silence.

But it would only take one day
and one act

to end life on Earth as we know it.

ALARM BEEPS

There's no rest for the crew today.

On the back of the Trident firing
drill,

the fire alarm sounds.

ALARM CONTINUES BEEPING

A fire can cripple a submarine...

...and burn up precious oxygen.

ALARM CONTINUES

Get that down.

ALARM CONTINUES

MUFFLED TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT:
The fire's now...

The submarine is safe.

Fortunately, this was a drill.

...but the crew's response is
reviewed as if it were real.

When the fire pipe came out, the
noise level starts to increase.

But considering the amount of people
in here right now,

the noise levels very quickly
dropped back down again

to a manageable level and the team
effort in here,

you were backing each other up,
which is good to see.

The crew did well
but it wasn't perfect.

Safety must always be the captain's
primary concern.

I worry about the material state
of the submarine.

I worry about the wellbeing of my
ship's company.

I have 167 people who look to me
to give them

the assurance and safety
and that's my job.

Just gone nine o'clock in the
evening and I have to keep

looking at my watch because there's
no other means to tell you,

there's no daylight.

It's just such an alien environment.

Well, it's been an insight
into what happens on board.

I'm absolutely knackered just from
taking everything in,

but I'm quite looking forward to
waking up in the morning

because there's so much more
about this sub

that I still want to understand.

ALARM BEEPS

Moments after we finished
filming,

the general alarm sounds again.

But this time, it's for real.

There's a leak in the engine room,
an area of the boat that's

off limits to our cameras.

As the leak is frantically being
plugged,

I stumble across the man
who discovered it.

He's been moved to a safe
compartment.

What did you see? How did you...?

A spray of hydraulic oiL

You could smell it in the air before
you got there.

Quite intense as soon as you
got down by the shaft,

so you knew it was coming from
there.

So ljust grabbed a rag and
dived in and stopped

the hydraulic turning into a mist,
because that's when it's at

its most dangerous.

So it was all over me,
over my hair,

and it you could just taste it in
the atmosphere.

Are you all right? Yeah, yeah, good.

My shoulder's a bit sore.
Why's that?

I think I cracked it as I went
in for the leak, like.

Wow, listen, mate...

Look, you go and make sure you get
yourself sorted out. Yeah, I will.

The engineer's quick thinking
stopped the leak

from turning into a fire.

But the boat's hydraulics are now
compromised.

Well, your worst case, you've got
everything

on the one hydraulic system.

If the crew can't find a solution
underwater,

they'll have to return to port,

making them late for their nuclear
deterrent patrol.

Fixing this problem is now top
priority.

ALARM BEEPS

HMS Vengeance is at emergency
stations in the middle of the night.

It's suffered a hydraulic leak
that's just been plugged,

Senior officers must decide
what to do.

Either they trust the quick fix
they've just done to hold

for the next few months at sea,

or delay their mission and head
home.

So, what happens now?

We've briefed the captain and now
there's a plan going in place,

which means that we revert some of
our systems,

albeit to an abnormal line up,
it's still a safe line up

and the submarine will still work
as it normally would.

Which means that you can continue
on as was planned with the sub?

Just with backup systems?
Absolutely, yeah.

A backup system for the main
system and there's a backup system

for the backup system, it's all
built on an emergency mode.

So it's just about picking
the right one.

There's never a dull moment, is
there? There is not, no.

I did have my head down at that
stage, as well, I was fast asleep,

and it gives you a bit of a fright.

I can share that, likewise!
Yeah.

The decision has been made
to continue the mission.

But the following day, there's some
bad news for the engineer

who found the leak.

The engineer's quick response
prevented a fire

in HMS Vengeance's engine room.

But his injury means his time on
board is now over

and my four clays and nights
on the submarine

are also coming to an end.

The submarine's just surfaced, which
means that I can take a peek

with the periscope.

There's a horizon there, which is
something I've not seen

for a fair while.

It's actually quite a personal
moment, though,

because I'm very aware that as my
visit here on the sub

draws to a close, the crew's mission
is just beginning

and this is close to home as they're
going to get for a good few months.

Once I leave, HMS Vengeance will
head out on patrol,

along with her nuclear deterrent.

For the crew, their mission has only
just started.

To spend weeks, months, maybe,
out at sea,

away from normal life, away from
family and friends and loved ones,

I think I'd find really, really
difficult.

Really, really difficult.

It is the people that make the
submarine,

as the family make the submariner.

Driving away from the house,
I would lie to you if I didn't

stop the car and I don't have to
think about it. Mm.

And a few leaky eyeball moments and
then, unfortunately,

you have to accept your divinity
and move on.

The weekly highlight for everyone on
board will now be a short message

from loved ones at home.

Even that's censored and there's no
means to reply.

It's certainly not a life
I could lead.

For over 50 years, Royal Navy
submariners

have secretly kept our nuclear
deterrent at permanent readiness,

but these boats are now ageing.

So, whatever we might feel about the
nuclear deterrent,

its future is already decided.

Will there be a next 50 years of
at sea deterrent for the UK,

do you think?

Well, I'm going to say,
perversely, sadly,

we are planning that.

And I say that because nobody wants
nuclear weapons, really.

The same as we want a blue planet
free of plastics, you know?

But we are planning on having a
nuclear deterrent

capability for the next 50 years.

You know, we have a new submarine
being built, HMS Dreadnought.

It'll be far more sophisticated
than Vengeance.

Looking back on my few clays on
board,

I've been astonished by what
I've seen.

7,000 yards.

ALARM BEEPS

Five, four, three...

Weapons has my permission
to fire.

...two, one. Bombs away.

It's been a bewildering and moving
experience,

but it's focused my mind on what
HMS Vengeance really is.

For me, HMS Vengeance is a real
paradox.

As an engineering masterpiece,
it is one of the most

complex technical creations mankind
has ever accomplished,

and it's certainly thrilling.

But at the same time, it is
the deadliest of weapons.

And if it were ever called into use,
it would likely represent

the end of life as we know it.

Either way, it does exist and I
can't imagine it

being in better hands.

The people I met down on
HMS Vengeance

are amongst the most capable
I've ever met.

And if we are to have this kind of
weapon for the next 50 years,

these are exactly
the kind of people to run it.

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