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The United Kingdom has possessed weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological, and...

The United Kingdom has possessed weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. The United Kingdom is one of the five official nuclear weapon states under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has an independent nuclear deterrent. The U.K. has been estimated to have a stockpile of less than 160 active nuclear warheads and 185 nuclear warheads in total, making it the smallest inventory of the five nuclear weapons states. The United Kingdom renounced the use of chemical and biological weapons in 1956 and subsequently destroyed its general stocks. The United Kingdom has four Vanguard class submarines armed with nuclear-tipped Trident missiles. The principle of operation is based on maintaining deterrent effect by always having at least one submarine at sea, and was designed during the Cold War period. One submarine is normally undergoing maintenance and the remaining two are in port or on training exercises. It is believed that British ballistic missile submarine patrols are coordinated with those of the French. Each submarine carries up to sixteen Trident II D-5 missiles, which can each carry up to twelve warheads, for a maximum of 192 warheads