Arms Control and Proliferation Profile: The United Kingdom

This profile summarizes the major arms control agreements, regimes, initiatives, and practices that the United Kingdom subscribes to and those that it does not. It also describes the major weapons programs, policies, and holdings of the United Kingdom, as well as its proliferation record. This profile is one of a series focused on the arms control record and status of key states, all of which are available on the Arms Control Association’s Website at http://www.armscontrol.org.

Major Multilateral Arms Control Agreements and Treaties

Export Control Regimes, Nonproliferation Initiatives, and Safeguards

Australia Group: Member.

Missile Technology Control Regime: Member.

Nuclear Suppliers Group: Member.

Wassenaar Arrangement: Member.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Additional Protocol: Yes, entered into force in 2004.

Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism: Participant.

Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation: Participant.

Proliferation Security Initiative: Participant.

UN Security Council Resolutions 1540 and 1673: The United Kingdom has filed the requested reports on its activities to fulfill the resolutions and volunteered to provide assistance to other states.

Major Weapons Programs, Policies, and Practices

Biological Weapons:
The United Kingdom had an active biological warfare program from 1936 to 1956. As part of that program, the United Kingdom weaponized anthrax and researched plague, typhoid fever, and botulinum toxin. Today, the British government operates an extensive and sophisticated defensive program that includes research on potentially offensive pathogens.

Chemical Weapons:
Pakistan did not declare possessing any chemical weapons when it joined the Chemical Weapons Convention. Pakistan remains in good standing under the treaty.

Missiles:

• Ballistic Missiles: The United Kingdom maintains one type of ballistic missile system in its arsenal for delivering nuclear warheads. That missile is the U.S.-origin Trident II (D5) submarine-launched ballistic missile, which has an estimated range of roughly 7,400 kilometers.



• Cruise Missiles: The United Kingdom possesses two air-launched land-attack cruise missile systems, the PGM-500 and PGM-2000. The latter can carry a heavier payload.

Nuclear Weapons:
In December 2006, the United Kingdom announced plans to reduce its deployed force of approximately 200 strategic nuclear warheads to less than 160. The government also declared that the reserve stockpile, the size of which is secret, will be trimmed by 20 percent.

British nuclear warheads are only deployed on submarines. Currently, the government maintains four Vanguard-class submarines, which are projected to start reaching the end of their service lives in the early 2020s. The government has initiated a process to develop a new class of submarines to potentially carry British nuclear warheads until about mid-century.

The British government’s standard practice is to have only one submarine on routine patrol at any given time. The government claims the missiles aboard the submarine are not on alert and that launching a missile would take several days of preparation.

In May 2000, the British government reaffirmed a commitment not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states-parties to the NPT subject to certain conditions regarding their behavior and alliances. London refuses to rule out the first use of nuclear weapons, but has stated that it would only employ such arms in self-defense and “even then only in extreme circumstances.”

The United Kingdom has conducted 45 nuclear weapon tests. The first test occurred Oct. 3, 1952, and the last took place Nov. 26, 1991.

In April 1995, the British government declared that it no longer produces fissile material, highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium, for weapons purposes. The government has declared that its military stockpile consists of 3.5 metric tons of plutonium and 17.4 metric tons of HEU.

Conventional Weapons Trade:
The United Kingdom is a key arms exporter. In 2007, the British government volunteered to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms that in 2006 the United Kingdom had exported two tanks, 37 armored combat vehicles, eight attack helicopters and one missile system, as well as more than 359,000 small arms and light weapons. In a September 2007 arms trade report, the U.S. Congressional Research Service reported that the United Kingdom had agreed to $3.1 billion in new arms export deals in 2006.[2]

The United Kingdom is spearheading an initiative to negotiate an arms trade treaty to establish standards for global arms exports. The United Nations in 2008 is convening a group of governmental experts to explore the feasibility of such an instrument.

Proliferation Record

Although a leading supplier of conventional weapons to other states, the United Kingdom is not known to have deliberately or significantly contributed to the spread of biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons to other states.

Other Arms Control and Nonproliferation Activities

The British government has signed protocols stating its intent to respect and not threaten the use of nuclear weapons against states-parties to the Latin American, South Pacific, and African nuclear-weapon-free zones. London has not done so for the Southeast Asian or Central Asian zones.

The United Kingdom is a state-party to the Open Skies Treaty, which enables unarmed reconnaissance flights over all states-parties territories, and has signed the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty. London, along with other western capitals, is refusing to ratify the latter agreement until Russia fulfills commitments to withdraw its military forces from Georgia and Moldova.

London further supports the negotiation of a fissile material cutoff treaty at the 65-member Conference on Disarmament. Although the British government previously endorsed an “effectively verifiable” cutoff, it has backed off promoting that objective after the United States in 2004 declared it no longer supported that goal.

The United Kingdom is participating in a Norwegian-led effort to negotiate a treaty to ban cluster munitions that “cause unacceptable harm to civilians,” and it also supports concluding an instrument on cluster munitions through the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

The United Kingdom joined the United States in invading Iraq in 2003 citing its alleged pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. No evidence has been discovered to support these allegations.

London has engaged in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear activities, which the United Kingdom suspects are intended to develop nuclear weapons. The British government supports ratcheting up sanctions on Iran to persuade it to halt certain activities, particularly uranium enrichment.

-Researched and prepared by Alex Bollfrass.

ENDNOTES

1. The United Kingdom has not ratified Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War.

2. Grimmett, Richard F., Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1999-2006, Congressional Research Service, September 26, 2007, 92 pp.