WE 177 A UK parachute retarded/free fall tactical nuclear weapon in Laboratory 1 at the former Atomic Weapon Research Establishment (AWRE), Orford Ness, Suffolk, UK. The WE 177 A was a boosted fission weapon, which used a small amount of fusion fuel to boost the yield of the fission chain reaction. Tactical nuclear weapons are designed to be used in battlefield conditions, usually with much less explosive power than strategic weapons. There were also WE 177 Bs and Cs which were thermonuclear, the B being a strategic weapon. The colour hazard bands on the nose signify nuclear (orange) and highly explosive (yellow). The weapons were withdrawn in 1998.