A ticking bomb.

This article focuses on Great Britain's nuclear deterrent system. After this week's uncomfortably large rebellion over his relatively modest school reforms, Tony Blair will have to pick the remaining battles of his premiership with some care. One that he might be tempted to leave to his successor, but may not be able to, is over the future of the British nuclear deterrent. In 2003, a defence white paper signalled that a decision on the matter would have to be made during the current parliament. Designed to last around 30 years, the first of Britain's four Trident ballistic-missile submarines will be nearing the end of its life in 2024.