A US Air Force B-52 bomber flew for more than three hours across several states while carrying six cruise missiles under its wings mistakenly armed with nuclear warheads, Pentagon officials say.
The incident last Thursday triggered an Air Force probe and the firing of a commander, Pentagon officials said on Wednesday.
US President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates were informed immediately after the mistake came to light, and Gates has asked for daily briefings on the Air Force inquiry, Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell said.
PHOTO: AFP/LOCKHEED MARTIN
The B-52 originated at Minot Air Base in North Dakota and flew to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, said air force officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a Pentagon policy not to confirm information on nuclear weapons.
The US Air Force has relieved the munition squadron commander at Minot of his duties, and launched an investigation into last Thursday's incident, a Pentagon spokesman said.
"At no time was there a threat to public safety," Lieutenant Colonel Ed Thomas said.
"It is important to note that munitions were safe, secure and under military control at all times," he said.
The Pentagon would not provide details, citing secrecy rules, but an expert said the incident was unprecedented, and pointed to a disturbing lapse in the air force's command and control system.
"It seems so fantastic that so many points, checks can dysfunction," said Hans Kristensen, an expert on US nuclear forces.
"We have so many points and checks specifically so we don't have these kinds of incidents," he said.
"That's perhaps what is most worrisome about this particular incident -- that apparently an individual who had command authority about moving these weapons around decided to do so," he said.
"It's a command and control issue and it's one that calls into question the system, because if one individual can do that who knows what can happen," he said.
Nuclear weapons are normally transferred on cargo planes, never on the wings of bombers, he said.
Bomber flights with live nuclear weapons ended in the late 1960s after accidents in Spain in 1966 and in Greenland in 1968.
US lawmakers expressed outrage at the incident.
Representative Ike Skelton, Democratic chairman of the Armed Services Committee in the House of Representatives, called the mishandling of the weapons "deeply disturbing" and said the committee would press the military for details.
"It is absolutely inexcusable that the Air Force lost track of these five nuclear warheads, even for a short period of time," Representative Edward Markey, a Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement.
"Nothing like this has ever been reported before and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible," Markey said.
The breach originally was reported by the Military Times newspaper on Wednesday and was later confirmed by the Pentagon.
The missiles, which are being decommissioned, were mounted onto pylons on the bomber's wings, and it was unclear why the warheads had not been removed.
Officials said the weapons are designed with multiple safety features that ensure the warheads do not detonate accidentally. Arming the weapons requires a number of stringent protocols and authentication codes that must be followed for detonation. They are designed to withstand a significant impact, including a crash, without detonating.
The missiles carried W-80 warheads of up to 150 kilotonnes, 10 times the destructive force of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
OUT OF NIGER: The US joint chiefs of staff chairman is in Botswana for a gathering of African chiefs of defense as Washington seeks to rebuild its presence in the continent The top US general is making a rare trip to Africa to discuss ways to preserve some of the US presence in West Africa after Niger decided to kick out the US military in favor of partnering with Russia in a major setback for Washington. US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters before landing in Botswana yesterday for a gathering of African chiefs of defense that he was going to speak with several partners in the region. “I do see some opportunities. And there’s countries that we’re already working with in West Africa,” Brown
MONEY MATTERS? Hanoi said the US and Vietnam talked about developing their partnership, which involves significantly more trade than with Russia A senior US diplomat on Saturday held talks in Vietnam and said that the trust between the two countries was at an “all-time high,” just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Hanoi. US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said that his trip was unrelated to Putin’s visit on Thursday. Vietnam last year elevated the US to its highest diplomatic status, comprehensive strategic partner, putting it at the same level as China and Russia. The elevation of the US ties suggested that Vietnam wanted to hedge its friendships as Western companies look
LITHIUM BATTERY: Twenty foreign workers, including 18 Chinese, were among the fatalities in the massive blaze that engulfed the Aricell factory in Hwaesong Twenty-two people were killed — including 18 Chinese nationals — in a massive fire at a South Korean lithium battery factory, the fire department said yesterday, one of the nation’s worst factory disasters in years. More than 100 people were working in the factory when workers heard a series of explosions from the second floor, where lithium-ion batteries were being inspected and packaged, firefighter Kim Jin-young told media. In the massive blaze that ensued, 22 people were killed, including 20 foreign nationals — 18 Chinese, one from Laos and one of unknown nationality, he said. “Most of the bodies are badly burned so
A 17-year-old vocational school student from rural China became a celebrity on social media after reaching the final round of a math competition, beating many others from top universities and raising questions about the education system. Jiang Ping (姜萍), who is studying fashion design, finished 12th in the Alibaba Global Math Competition, one of 802 who made it to the final round — an eight-hour test that took place yesterday. A video that included an interview with Jiang got more than 800,000 likes and 90,000 comments after it was posted on social media by Damo Academy, the organizer of the contest. Most