This C-17A flight might have carried some very special cargo

LAKENHEATH - A C-17A Globemaster III flies from the US straight into the UK. The flight path: No secret. The inbound cargo: Top secret. Mission circumstances and details give rise to speculation: The US government might have moved some nuclear warheads to back the UK to deter Russia.

Four digit callsigns alone point to high-priority missions in US Air Force speak.

"Reach 4574" assigned to a C-17A Globemaster III on 17 July is quite likely to fall into this category. Especially since 08-8200 also received aerial refuelling over the North Atlantic.

Military observers also point the airfields of departure and destination: "Reach 4574" took off from Kirtland, New Mexico - the key logistics center for nuclear weapons within the US Air Force - and headed straight to RAF Lakenheath, the British base for US F-35A that can carry nuclear warheads. RAF Leakenheath had flight operations over its site restricted from 17 to 18 July by a NOTAM.

The mission fuels rumors that the US could have moved some nuclear warheads back to Lakenheath - to deter Russia.

While the UK maintains a nuclear arsenal of its own, it discontinued its airborne nuclear deterrent strategy in 1998. The USA shipped its nuclear weapons from the UK home in 2008.

The British government plans to rebuild airborne nuclear capabilities - the uK is sourcing twelve F-35A for this effort, according to a recent statement.