Written question asked by Gordon Prentice (Labour) on Friday, 21 October 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 27 October 2005. It was answered by Lord Reid of Cardowan (Labour) on Thursday, 27 October 2005 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Trident

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Trident missiles and (b) nuclear warheads for those missiles are stockpiled in (i) the UK and (ii) the US.

Answer: As stated in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, the UK purchased 58 Trident II (D5) missiles. Missiles are either deployed onboard UK submarines or held ashore at the Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport, on a temporary basis, or in the United States at the Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic, as part of a shared pool of US/UK missiles. In line with the policy set out in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, the UK maintains a stockpile of fewer than 200 operationally available nuclear warheads, 48 of which are onboard the single submarine on deterrent patrol. The remaining warheads are held ashore in the UK; none is stored in the United States.

Secondary information