UK’s nuclear base ‘in danger’ after troopers submit runs on health app
More than 500 British soldiers at some of the UK’s most sensitive military sites and bases have shared their locations publicly on a fitness tracking app called Strava
110 different users who have completed runs at the Faslane naval base (Image: Getty Images)
Brit soldiers are putting UK nuclear sites at risk as the threat of World War 3 looms by posting their running times on a fitness app. More than 500 British soldiers at some of the UK’s most sensitive military sites have shared their locations publicly on the Strava app, it has emerged, and now warnings have been made about how safe that is.
Since January, some 110 different users who have completed runs at the Faslane naval base on the Clyde – which is the home of Trident, the UK’s nuclear deterrent. The leaks have sparked worries that foreign intelligence services could use the data gain intelligence about the sensitive sites – and potentially blackmail personnel from some government bigwigs.
Ben Obese-Jecty, Tory MP for Huntingdon, said that the current global situation meant soldiers should at the very least be using the app’s security features to make their activity private. The former army officer wrote on X: “I stopped using Strava when I became an MP and I locked down my profile long before that. The app has numerous features to enable you to keep your data private.
“It beggars belief that our armed forces don’t have a grip of this given the current, and very real, threat posed by sub-threshold activity from our adversaries.”
The security of UK sites has been repeatedly challenged, with an Iranian man and a Romanian woman charged last month after allegedly trying to enter HM Naval Base Clyde, known as Faslane.
One route logged on Strava within the site’s restricted area revealed details that could help identify the specific nuclear submarine to which the user was assigned, it has been reported.
Personnel stationed at overseas bases, including RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, both of which have played a role in the US’s military campaign against Iran, were also identifiable through the app.
Both bases have been targeted by Iran in retaliation for the US-Israeli war against it.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We take the security of our personnel very seriously and keep guidance for them under constant review.” They added that the use of fitness apps such as Strava do not present an operational threat, as the base locations are already in the public domain.
It comes after the French military announced it was taking “appropriate measures” after a naval officer’s Strava activity inadvertently gave away the location of an air carrier deployed following the outbreak of the Iran war.
