The Ministry of Defence could scale back Britain's fleet of Trident nuclear submarines as it seeks to make savings after what will be "the absolute mother of horrors of a spending review", Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said.
Dr Fox said that the fleet would be reduced from four to three subs only if it was possible to do so while maintaining Britain's "continuous at-sea" deterrence. A decision on the fourth sub will be made in 2014/15, he told a conference at Chatham House in London.
His comments came as he answered questions following a speech in which he made clear his intention of ensuring the UK retains "a war-fighting edge" in the wake of this autumn's Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR).
While acknowledging that the country faces "tough economic times", Dr Fox said he was determined to ensure Britain will continue to have "robust and well-equipped Armed Forces capable of intervening abroad where necessary to protect our security and interests at home".
His speech will be seen as a signal to Chancellor George Osborne that he will fight to preserve as much as possible of his department's £36 billion budget in October's spending review, in which the MoD is expected to face cuts of 10% or more.
The Government is committed to maintaining Britain's independent nuclear deterrent, and Dr Fox has excluded the question of whether to replace the ageing Trident fleet from the Strategic Defence Review.
But the coalition agreement between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats states that the £20 billion decision to renew Trident over the coming decade will be subjected to a value-for-money review.
The Defence Secretary said this review was looking at whether the nuclear deterrent can be maintained "while reducing the cost of the successor submarine and ballistic missile systems, including by shifting the balance between financial savings and operational risks".
The previous Labour government had said it would consider whether technology permitted the number of subs to be reduced while keeping at least one craft continuously at sea, said Dr Fox.
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And he added: "That reality is still there. We would have to look at what technology was available and what risks we were taking as we came to make that decision on the fourth submarine sometime in 2014/15."
