HC Deb 24 January 1985 vol 71 c529W
Mr. Cohen

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the top 20 conventional explosive weapons which the British armed forces possess in terms of their destructive capacity; how many of each are possessed; and what is the extent of this capacity in each case.

Mr. Stanley

Of the conventional explosive weapons in service with the British armed forces, those with the greatest content of high explosive — HE — in their warhead are as follows:

  • Sea Systems
  • Sea Mines
  • Heavyweight Torpedoes (Mk 8 and Mk 24)
  • Surface to surface missile (Exocet, Harpoon)
  • Sub Harpoon sub-surface to surface missile
  • Lightweight Torpedoes (Mk 44, Mk 46, Stingray)
  • Air Systems
  • Iron Bombs
  • Cluster Bomb
  • Laser Guided Bomb
  • Martel air to surface missile
  • Bloodhound surface to air missile.

In some cases, there is more than one variant in service. Details of HE content and of numbers of weapons possessed are classified.