战备巡航任务结束后返回的“前卫”级潜艇
A Vanguard-class submarine returning from patrol
据英媒报道称，一艘载有140名船员和数枚“三叉戟2”型导弹的英国海军核潜艇近日在大西洋执行任务时发生故障，导致该潜艇下潜至“危险地带”，险些舰毁人亡。该事件的发生再次让英国核力量弱化成为讨论话题。
According to media reports, a Royal Navy nuclear submarine carrying 140 crew members and several UGM-133 Trident II (Trident D5) missiles broke down on mission in the Atlantic Ocean recently, causing an unplanned descent to dangerous depths zone narrowly avoiding shipwreck and casualties. The incident has again reignited the debate on the diminishing nuclear power of the country.
多年以来，“前卫”级核潜艇一直是英国海军不能省心的武器。如在2009年，英国的“前卫”级核潜艇“前卫”号在大西洋和法国的“凯旋”级战略核潜艇“凯旋”号迎头撞击。撞击后，英军潜艇被拖回港。
For many years, the Vanguard-class nuclear submarines have been a weapon that keeps the Royal Navy on edge. For example, in 2009, the HMS Vanguard submarine of the Royal Navy and Le Triomphant of the French Navy collided in the Atlantic Ocean, and the former was towed back to a port after the incident.
而在2015年，正在英国皇家潜艇部队服役的二等兵威廉•麦克奈利在网上公布了一份自己撰写的报告，称只需一个假的身份证明文件，便能登上核潜艇，继而接触关乎国家存亡的核武系统，并且在他服役期间，至少发现了“前卫”级存在包括机密信息保护不全、电脑系统对火情危险出现评估错误、导弹预警警报失灵、安检形同虚设等三十多项安全漏洞。
In 2015, Able Seaman William McNeilly, who was serving in the Royal Navy Submarine Service, published a self-composed report online saying that one only needs a fake identification document to board the nuclear submarine and access to the nuclear weapons system critical to national survival, and his service had at least witnessed more than 30 security vulnerabilities of the Vanguard-class submarine, including incomplete protection on classified information, incorrect computerized fire danger assessment, missiles early warning failure and void security check.
到了2016年6月，从佛罗里达州沿海的英国“前卫”级核潜艇上发射的一枚“三叉戟”ⅡD5 导弹偏离轨道，没有按照计划射向非洲西海岸，而是朝着美国本土方向飞去，所幸未携带核弹头。2022年11月，英国“前卫”级核潜艇“胜利”号在大西洋水下游弋期间发生电气火灾事故，艇上超过130名水兵不得不紧急参与灭火，并让核潜艇上浮排除有毒气体。
Later in June 2016, a Trident D5 missile launched from a Vanguard-class nuclear submarine sailing along the coast of Florida deviated from course, heading for the US continent instead of the west coast of Africa as planned, with no nuclear warhead installed fortunately. In November 2022, the Vanguard-class nuclear submarine HMS Victorious experienced an electrical fire accident during an underwater cruise in the Atlantic Ocean, when more than 130 sailors onboard had to immediately assist in extinguishing the fire and ascending the nuclear submarine to expel toxic gases.
有分析认为，“前卫”级的麻烦之所以层出不穷，一个主要的原因就是超期服役。
Some analysts pointed out that the unrelenting troubles of the Vanguard-class submarines were mainly arisen from their extended service.
冷战结束以后，世界战略形势发生了巨大变化，英国也随之调整了自身的核战略，开始奉行“最低限度核威慑”，追求最小规模的核力量对敌人实施难以承受的打击。随着对战略核装备的需求变少，英国于1992年撤除了陆基核武器，1998年结束了空军的核战备执勤，目前英国的核威慑力量仅依靠4艘“前卫”级潜艇及其搭载的“三叉戟”潜射弹道导弹。
As the global strategic situation significantly changed after the end of the Cold War, the UK adjusted its nuclear strategy accordingly, seeking to launch unbearable strikes on enemies with the smallest scale of nuclear force by upholding the minimal nuclear deterrence principle. As the demand for strategic equipment decreased, the country dismantled land-based nuclear weapons in 1992 and ceased the nuclear deterrence duties of the Air Force in 1998, remaining only four Vanguard-class submarines and their installed Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles for nuclear deterrence.
“前卫”级战略核潜艇是英国海军第二代弹道导弹核潜艇，该潜艇于1983年开始设计研制，首艇于1993年交付英国海军服役。作为英国目前唯一的战略打击力量，这4艘潜艇执行“不间断的海上战略威慑”（CASD）政策，即保证有1艘“前卫”级潜艇24小时在公海进行战备巡航，随时准备在最短时间内发射其搭载的核武器。
The Vanguard-class strategic nuclear submarines are the second generation of ballistic missile nuclear submarines of the Royal Navy, which initiated design and development in 1983 and commenced service with its first ship to the Navy in 1993. As the only strategic strike force of the UK at present, the four submarines implement the Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD) policy, that is, securing the availability of one submarine for 24-hour combat readiness patrol in the high seas, ready to launch the equipped nuclear weapons at the shortest time.
“前卫”级最初的设计寿命为25年，原本将在2020年前后达到服役期限并相继退役。作为“前卫”级潜艇的后继，英军“无畏”号战略核潜艇按计划将在2028年服役。但是由于建造进度被拖延，“无畏”级很可能在本世纪30年代初也无法服役，这就要求“前卫”级将必须服役37-38年，远远超过其原本设计寿命，而随着艇龄的增长，其战备状态不可避免地受到了影响，从而故障频频。
The Vanguard-class submarines were originally designed to sustain 25 years and decommission around 2020. As the successor to these submarines, the HMS Dreadnought strategic nuclear submarine is scheduled to be deployed in 2028. However, due to delays in construction, the new submarine is unlikely to enter service even in the early 2030s, so the Vanguard-class submarines have to be commissioned for 37-38 years, well beyond their intended service life, which will inevitably impact their combat readiness with the aging of the facilities.
同时，潜艇的健康状况不良也让艇上的人受到了负面影响。
Meanwhile, the poor health of the submarines has also adversely affected the individuals aboard.
按照正常情况，核潜艇进行海上部署的时间通常在2个月左右，一般不会超过3个月。这主要是因为核潜艇长期在水下活动，所有艇员都处于高度紧张之中，再加上潜艇内部空间狭小，潜艇艇员的精神压力无法缓解。所以水下生活过长，就会导致出现心理问题。
Under normal circumstances, the nuclear submarines are deployed on maritime operations for about two months, or no more than three months generally. This is mainly because long underwater activities and confined space put all crew under intense pressure and leave no valve to relief from psychological stress. Therefore, the crew was prone to develop mental problems if exposed to extended periods of underwater living.
但是“前卫”级的巡逻时间却普遍延长。相关方表示，延长巡逻时间的部分原因是四艘潜艇中的一艘出现反应堆泄漏，此后进行了长达7年的改装，直到2022年7月才恢复服役，这导致英国可用潜艇的数量在一段时期内减少到了三艘，所以这三艘自然需要能者多劳。
However, the patrol periods of the Vanguard-class submarines are generally extended. Relevant parties said that a partial reason is that one of the four submarines suffered a reactor leak and underwent a seven-year refit before restoring service in July 2022, which resulted in only three submarines available for a period, who were compelled to contribute more naturally.
相关数据显示，2022年英国两艘“前卫”级潜艇分别出海巡逻了157天。在2023年9月，英国摄影师希拉•威尔拍到了一艘“前卫”级核潜艇返回苏格兰西海岸的克莱德皇家海军基地的照片，据称这艘“前卫”级核潜艇是在海上连续执勤了6个月才返回基地，潜艇全身挂满了各种海洋藻类生物，而且艇体上的消音瓦也出现大面积脱落，简直惨不忍睹，既然潜艇都成这样了，艇员的境况更是可想而知。
Relevant data suggest that in 2022, each of two Vanguard-class submarines had been on patrol for 157 days. In September 2023, British photographer Sheila Weir captured a picture of a Vanguard-class submarine returning to HM Naval Base Clyde on the west coast of Scotland. After fulfilling missions at sea for six months purportedly, the submarine was heavily caked in algae, with significant portions of anechoic tiles on the hull falling off. We can imagine the crew's circumstances based on the deplorable state of the submarine.
以上种种都让各界对英国核武器安全以及核威慑的稳定性产生了质疑，而这样的困境会随着“无畏”级建造的进一步拖延愈发加深。
All these circumstances have raised doubts about the UK nuclear weapon safety and deterrent stability, a plight that may become more pronounced with further delays in building the HMS Dreadnought submarine.
Editor's note: Originally published on thepaper.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
