ICBM fuses mistakenly sent to Taiwan in 2006

[unhappycamper]

Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne demonstrates the positioning of a nose cone assembly for Minuteman missiles during a press briefing inside the Pentagon March 25. The non-nuclear assemblies were mistakenly sent to Taiwan in 2006.


ICBM fuses mistakenly sent to Taiwan in 2006
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Mar 26, 2008 6:11:35 EDT

The Air Force mistakenly shipped classified ballistic missile components to Taiwan in August 2006, but didn’t discover it until last Wednesday.

Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne said at a press conference Tuesday the Air Force sent Taiwan four fuses designed to trigger nuclear and non-nuclear Minuteman III ballistic missiles instead of batteries for utility helicopters the U.S. originally planned to send.

The mistake occurred a year before airmen from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., accidentally ferried and lost track of six nuclear warheads flown on a B-52 Stratofortress to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., prompting criticism of the Air Force’s ability to secure its strategic weapon stockpile.

Airmen shipped the four fuses encased in Minuteman III nose cones back in March 2005 from F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., to the Defense Logistics Agency warehouse at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, since F.E. Warren was overstocked, Wynne said.

But instead of securing the fuses in classified storage areas, Principle Deputy Undersecretary for Defense Ryan Henry said the airmen stored the fuses at an unclassified site. He also said during the press conference that he could only be speculative on this part at this point.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/03/airforce_loosenukes_032508/



uhc comment: You may want to read the linked AFT article --> http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_taiwan_missileparts_032608/

[Eagle_Eye]

1. If the CIA sold old W80 nuclear warheads that were scheduled to to to PANTEX for destruction

They just might need new detonators to work properly. To cover their tracks, the CIA ships the warheads out of Minot to the Middle East through Louisiana going east, and ships the detonators through Taiwan going west.

Even if Iran is incapable of producing a nuclear bomb in the short term, the republicans will come through for them and lend them a few nukes to tide them over until real production can begin.

The war on terror will go on - and - on while the fat cat defense contractors get richer - and - richer.