SIPRI Yearbook 2011
IV. British nuclear forces
The United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent consists exclusively of a sea-based component: four Vanguard Class Trident SSBNs, Trident II (D5) SLBMs and associated warheads, and support infrastructure (see table 7.4). The UK leases the SLBMs from the US Navy, under a system of ‘mingled asset ownership’. D5 missiles are randomly selected from the stockpile at the US Navy’s Trident facility in Kings Bay, Georgia, and loaded onto British submarines. The submarines then go to the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport, Argyll, where the missiles are fitted with nuclear warheads designed and manufactured at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), in Aldermaston, Berkshire. The UK possesses an arsenal of about 160 operational nuclear warheads available for use by the Trident SSBNs.61
- Citation (MLA):
- Kile, Shannon N., Vitaly Fedchenko, Bharath Gopalaswamy, and Hans M. Kristensen. "7. World nuclear forces." SIPRI Yearbook. SIPRI. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2025. <https://www.sipriyearbook.org/view/9780199695522/sipri-9780199695522-div1-77.xml>.
- Citation (APA):
- Kile, S., Fedchenko, V., Gopalaswamy, B., & Kristensen, H. (2016). 7. World nuclear forces. In SIPRI, SIPRI Yearbook 2011: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 28 Mar. 2025, from https://www.sipriyearbook.org/view/9780199695522/sipri-9780199695522-div1-77.xml
- Citation (Chicago):
- Kile, Shannon N., Vitaly Fedchenko, Bharath Gopalaswamy, and Hans M. Kristensen. "7. World nuclear forces." In SIPRI Yearbook 2011: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, SIPRI. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016). Retrieved 28 Mar. 2025, from https://www.sipriyearbook.org/view/9780199695522/sipri-9780199695522-div1-77.xml
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