An unmarked military convoy carrying up to six nuclear warheads was spotted passing along the motorway through Glasgow in the UK. The vehicle was reportedly tracked from the M6, near Kendal, Cumbria, to Lesmahagow, around 25 miles south of the city, where it was spotted on the M74.
According to NukeWatch, an organization that tracks and monitors the convoys that transport the UK's Trident nuclear warheads, the convoy was heading to Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport on Loch Long on Friday. The spotting of the convoy comes amid rising tensions over Russia's unjustified invasion of Ukraine, according to Glasgow Live.
Where Was it Heading?
According to NukeWatch, the nuclear-armed convoy crossed via Erskine Bridge on Friday and continued up the M6 near Kendal before being spotted on the M74 near Lesmahagow and arrived in Loch Long at around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday. According to Glasgow Live, the road is a typical one for UK defense vehicles, and the Trident nuclear missiles were also observed there in May 2021.
However, what more alarming is that the convoy passed amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The weapons of mass destruction were a "reminder of the UK's contribution to nuclear terror," the group said. Tensions have been escalating between NATO and Russia - which recently put its own nuclear weapons on high alert.
Confirming its passage through Glasgow via the M74 and M8, Nukewatch UK Campaigner Jane Tallents told Glasgow Live: "We think that's the most likely [route] at that time of night.
"And looking at the timings of it I would say yes that's probably what it did, took the M74 onto the M8 over the Erskine Bridge and up the A82 at Loch Lomondside. I know it was about 11.30pm last night that it got into [RNAD] Coulport. I think there were four warhead carriers I believe."
However, there are also reports that there were six nuclear heads and not four. "Our reckoning is that each of those trucks can carry two but one of the trucks is empty as a spare in case breaks down.
"So if there's four we expect there to be six warheads, or up to six warheads anyway".
Tensions Escalate Further
The timing is "alarming," according to NukeWatch, given Russia's current invasion of Ukraine, although nuclear weapons transfer along the route is "routine."
"There hasn't been one since October last year which is a bit strange. But there was a bit of a flurry in the end," said Tallents. "There must be some reasoning in their madness but they'd never enlighten us [as to] what that is."
The aim of the nuclear movement, according to Nukewatch, was most likely refurbishing, not an attempt to arm the warheads in preparation for a Russian strike. "I don't think this convoy is of any more concern than the fact that we are always, 24/7, armed and ready to start a nuclear war. And yeah, obviously this current situation is very, very alarming. And how quickly some incident could just provoke something that gets all out of our control quickly.
The nuclear spotting comes as Russia's nuclear missiles have been placed on high alert as a result of Vladimir Putin's stalled invasion of Ukraine, which analysts fear would lead to nuclear-armed NATO states like the United Kingdom clashing with the Kremlin.
