The Corsham Computer Centre (CCC) is an underground British Ministry of Defence (MoD) installation in Corsham, Wiltshire, built in the 1980s. According to the MoD, the centre "processes data in support of the Royal Navy".[1] The centre has been similarly described by Des Browne in 2007, then Secretary of State for Defence, as a "data processing facility in support of Royal Navy operations".[2]
In written evidence to the Defence Select Committee in 2007, the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament suggested that the centre supports the software maintenance of the United Kingdom nuclear deterrent programme, Trident.[3] A The Herald newspaper report in 2016 stated that the "UK Software Facility" (UKSF), responsible for the Trident targeting system which was upgraded in 2015,[4] was believed to be located at the Corsham Computer Centre.[5]
The facility was built near Hudswell Quarry, and close to the Box Tunnel part of the broader complex of tunnels and quarries in the Corsham area and adjacent to the former Central Ammunition Depot built before the Second World War. It is located a few hundred metres north east of the current MoD Corsham.[6]
In 2007 the site falls within a wider facilities management contract, the Bristol Bath Total Facilities Management project, which was awarded to Debut Services, a special purpose vehicle of Babcock Defence and Bovis Lend Lease, in September 2007 for a period of three years with the option to extend the contract for a further three years.[7]
References
- ^ "Chiller project tackles environment and efficiency" (PDF). desider. Ministry of Defence. January 2010. p. 33. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 December 2010.
- ^ Browne, Des (22 November 2007). "Written Answers: Trident: RAF Corsham". Hansard. UK Parliament. 22 Nov 2007 : Column 1033W. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ "Further memorandum from Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament". Hansard. House of Commons. 19 January 2007.
- ^ "Strategic Weapons Targeting Systems - a new era" (PDF). desider. No. 90. Defence Equipment and Support. December 2015. p. 24. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ Edwards, Rob (28 February 2016). "Revelations of Trident upgrade prompt claims that UK nukes are under American control". The Herald. Scotland. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- ^ "Corsham Computer Centre". Mendip Cave Registry. Mendip Cave Registry & Archive. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ "Award of £45 million Facilities Management Contract". Babcock International Group. 13 September 2007. Archived from the original on August 18, 2011.
External links
- Phil Chamberlain, "Secret NATO Command Bunker", Indymedia, 11 November 2003. Includes photograph of Corsham Computer Centre entrance.