Details emerging on how fuses got to Taiwan

[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.


Details emerging on how fuses got to Taiwan
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 27, 2008 7:53:01 EDT

A day after the Defense Department announced it mistakenly shipped secret ballistic missile components, China expressed its “strong displeasure” over the error and it was revealed that Taiwanese officials were originally told to destroy the fuses.

Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne said at a press conference Tuesday the Air Force sent Taiwan in August 2006 four fuses designed to trigger Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles instead of batteries for helicopters the U.S. originally planned to send.

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.

More than a year later, airmen at Hill took the fuses out of storage and shipped them to Taiwan. The Taiwanese military placed the boxed fuses in storage thinking they were helicopter batteries, a Pentagon official said, who asked not to use his name since the incident is under investigation.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/03/airforce_loose_fuses3_032708w/



uhc prediction: Much more to come on this issue.