Green Party leader Zack Polankski claimed on social media that the UK's nuclear warheads are leased from the United States, but official sources confirm they are manufactured in Britain.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) states that warhead design and manufacture is carried out at AWE Nuclear Security Technologies in Berkshire. The warheads are the explosive devices fitted to missiles.
The Trident II D5 missiles themselves are built in the US and are procured under the 1963 Polaris Sales Agreement. The UK buys title to an agreed number of missiles from a shared stock maintained at Kings Bay Submarine Base in Georgia.
UK-manufactured warheads are fitted to the missiles at His Majesty's Naval Base Clyde in Scotland. The same arrangements will apply to the future Dreadnought-class submarines.
The UK's nuclear deterrent also relies on US support for maintenance, as noted by Chatham House.
