United Kingdom
United Kingdom is estimated to hold 225 nuclear warheads, about 2% of the world total, of which roughly 225 are in its military stockpile and 120 are deployed with operational forces. All figures are open-source estimates as of 2026-01.
A single-platform deterrent: warheads are carried only on Trident missiles aboard Vanguard-class submarines, at least one of which is at sea at all times. The UK announced in 2021 that it would raise its stockpile ceiling, reversing three decades of reductions.
| Deployed strategic | 120 |
|---|---|
| Deployed non-strategic | none reported |
| Reserve / non-deployed | 105 |
| Military stockpile | 225 |
| Total inventory | 225 incl. retired |
| Share of world total | 1.8% |
| First test | 1952-10-03 |
|---|---|
| NPT status | NPT nuclear-weapon state |
| Publicly declared | Yes |
| Fissile material route | Highly enriched uranium and plutonium |
| Civil programme | Reactors in United Kingdom |
Nuclear-powered vessels
Naval propulsion is the largest use of highly enriched uranium outside weapons programmes.
| Programme | Type | Fuel enrichment |
|---|---|---|
| Astute class | submarine | HEU |
| Dreadnought class | submarine | HEU |
| Vanguard class | submarine | - |
Other armed states
| Country | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| Russia | 5,420 |
| United States | 5,042 |
| China | 620 |
| France | 370 |
| India | 190 |
| Pakistan | 170 |
| Israel | 90 |
| North Korea | 60 |
United Kingdom in context
Its total inventory of 225 warheads is 1.8% of the 12,187 across the 9 states on record, ranking 5th.
Its military stockpile of 225 is 2.3% of the world's 9,745.
120 of its warheads are listed as deployed (120 strategic), 53% of the military stockpile, with 105 in reserve.
Its first nuclear test was in 1952, 74 years ago.
Its NPT status is "NPT nuclear-weapon state", the same as 4 of the other 8 states on record.
| Measure | United Kingdom | World (all nine states) | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total inventory | 225 | 12,187 | 1.8% of world, 5th of 9 |
| Military stockpile | 225 | 9,745 | 2.3% of world |
| Deployed warheads | 120 | 4,000 | 3.0% of world |
Worked out from the entries on this site only, so a figure compares United Kingdom with what is recorded here, not with everything that exists. An entry with no value for a measure is left out of that measure's ranking and median.
Sources
- Federation of American Scientists, Status of World Nuclear Forces · retrieved 2026-09-07
- SIPRI Yearbook 2026, chapter 8: World nuclear forces
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data