UK to test fire nuke-capable missile in major escalation

The United Kingdom will test fire a nuclear-capable missile for the first time in eight years in a major escalation amid growing global conflict.

The United Kingdom will test-fire a nuclear-capable missile within days as tensions in the Middle East boil over.

The Royal Navy issued a warning to shipping that the nuclear sub HMS Vanguard will be launched off the US’s Port Canaveral in Florida to conduct the first test of its kind since 2016.

The weapon will fly 5632 km before splashing into the North Atlantic Ocean near Dakar, Senegal, off the coast of West Africa.

It comes just days after UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps warned the world could be engulfed by wars involving China, Russia, North Korea and Iran in the next five years and said we are moving “from a post-war to pre-war world”.

HMS Vanguard will fire the UK’s first nuke-capable missile test in eight years. Picture: Supplied

The head of the British Army said UK citizens should be “trained and equipped” to fight in a potential war with Russia, describing those living today as the “pre-war generation”.

The 30-year-old sub is scheduled to test fire the unarmed missile after completing a seven-year refit in Plymouth, according to The Sun. The test is the last obstacle for HMS Vanguard to re-enter service as part of the UK’s nuclear deterrent fleet.

The $A7.7 billion, 491-foot submarine was pictured in Port Canaveral this week ahead of the test.

The British Navy has trumpeted the vessel that can patrol undetected for months at a time and can carry up to 16 Trident 2 D5 missiles, each equipped with multiple warheads that are each more than 20 times more powerful than the weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in WWII.

Royal Navy personnel in the control room on HMS Vigilant. Picture: Getty Images

The sub is expected to launch a single unarmed missile from 90km off the US east coast.

The US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency issued a warning to shipping that the sub was on course and due to impact in the mid-Atlantic.

The US-made 44ft Trident missiles are created to strike the edge of space and track their position against the stars before re-entering the atmosphere and falling. Their maximum range is 12,000km.

The Royal Navy has declined to comment on the test fire but the US warning is in place from 9pm on January 30 to 4am on February 4.

HMS Vanguard left Plymouth in the UK last year after a £500 million ($A100million) overhaul

In 2016 her sister missile HMS Vengeance had a Trident missile misfire near the coast of Florida to a target southeast of Ascension Island. It had veered off course and self-destructed.

Originally published as UK to test fire nuke-capable missile in major escalation