The official told CNN that the incident, which happened last June in an the area off the Florida coast used by the US and the UK for missile tests, did not in involve a nuclear warhead.
Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported that the missile veered towards the US coast, but the US official told CNN that this trajectory was part of an automatic self-destruct sequence. The official said the missile diverted into the ocean -- an automatic procedure when missile electronics detect an anomaly.
A month after the test, the UK parliament approved the renewal of Trident at a cost of £40 billion. Unaware of the failure, members of the House of Commons voted by 472 votes to 117 in favor of renewal.
On Sunday, British Prime Minister Theresa May was asked four times during an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr Show whether she knew of the missile failure before the vote. May refused to answer.
Government challenged on CNN report
Forced to make a statement on the controversy in the House of Commons on Monday, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said he had "absolute confidence" in Trident but refused to give "operational details" about the test.
CNN published this story just as Fallon spoke, and Mary Creagh, of the opposition Labour Party demanded to know why he would not give any further details.
Citing CNN's story, she said: "The Secretary of State has advised us not to believe everything we read in the Sunday newspapers, but should we believe the [US] official who, while we've been sitting here debating, has confirmed to CNN that the missile did auto-self-destruct off the coast of Florida? And if that is the case, why is the British parliament and the British public the last people to know?"
Fallon once again declined to give "operational details". (end of excerpt)
Click here for the full story, on the CNN website.
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from Defense Aerospace - Press releases http://ift.tt/2jsy5HI
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