The Ministry of Defence has taken delivery of new trucks for the road transport of nuclear warheads between the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) and HM Naval Base Clyde in Scotland.
The previously-used Foden Truck Convoy Heavy Duty Mark 2 (TCHD2) warhead carriers which came into service at the beginning of the 1990s are now being replaced with new vehicles comprising of Mercedes-Benz Actros tractor units and refurbished TCHD2 trailer units. The trucks are also expected to be used to transport special nuclear materials, replacing ageing High Security Vehicles previously used for this purpose.
The programme to replace the trucks was approved in 2007 and the new trucks are scheduled to be in service by the end of October 2010. Eight vehicles plus one spare tractor unit were scheduled to be ordered under the replacement programme.
The vehicles were ordered on behalf of MoD by AWE plc, which holds the contract for maintaining and operating convoy vehicles and managing certain elements of convoy operations.
Following a series of trials of different vehicle types last summer, the new trucks were seen on the road for the first time in July 2010 when a warhead convoy travelled from Burghfield to Scotland.
