The US military cannot locate hundreds of sensitive nuclear missile components, according to several government officials familiar with a Pentagon report on nuclear safeguards. Robert Gates, US defence secretary, recently fired both the US Air Force chief of staff and air force secretary after an investigation blamed the air force for the inadvertent shipment of nuclear missile nose cones to Taiwan. According to previously undisclosed details obtained by the FT, the investigation also concluded that the air force could not account for many sensitive components previously included in its nuclear inventory.
One official said the number of missing components was more than 1,000.
The disclosure is the latest embarrassing episode for the air force, which last year had to explain how a bomber mistakenly carried six nuclear missiles across the US. The incidents have raised concerns about US nuclear safeguards as Washington presses other countries to bolster counter-proliferation measures. A senior defence official said the report had “identified issues about record keeping” for sensitive nuclear missile components. But he stressed that there was no suggestion that components had ended up in the hands of countries that should not have received them.
But Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington, said the revelation was “very significant and extremely troubling” because it meant the US could not establish the positive control referred to by Mr Gates. “It raises a serious question about where else these unaccounted for warhead related parts may have gone,” said Mr Kimball. “I would not be surprised if the recent Taiwan incident is not the only one.”
And what they admit to is normally just the tip of the iceberg.
SKYNET!
We don’t ask for experience, its obvious.
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The stuff is probably sitting in the back of an USAF hanger somewhere because 20 years ago somebody mis-keyed a 3 instead of a 2.
The logistics invloved with military inventory is scary.
Adding the phrase nuclear to the part doesn’t mean that it is radioactive and it doesn’t even mean that it would really help anyone build a bomb.
I won’t pay much attention until we find out what the “parts” are…
Think Ollie sold them to Iran ?
If we are missing bombs or radioactive material I’m deeply concerned. Otherwise much less so.
Firing the people at the top normally does a great deal to clue in their replacements on what is important.
The rank and file do understand that if the bosses job is on the line theirs is too.
The problem is: since the parts are missing, we don’t know what they are. They could be nuts & bolts. They could be missile guidance chips.
Funny. We think we know how to safely store nuclear waste; we don’t even know how to safely store nuclear weapons.
Uh … I thought I left that stack of 200 kiloton warheads right over here … hmm …
#8 – “The problem is: since the parts are missing, we don’t know what they are. They could be nuts & bolts. They could be missile guidance chips.”
Umm, you can’t say they’re missing, UNLESS you know what they are and notice that they aren’t where they are supposed to be.
#9 – That’s like saying since we have a hard time tracking the storage of disassembled auto’s we can’t store gasoline. Stupid comparison.
Who is running this chicken shit outfit? Gomer Pyle?
#11
If you remember Gomer was OCD about the rules and the method of how to get things done. If anyone suggested anything less than the manual or SOP, Gomer would say, Shame Shame Shame on you.
We NEED Pyle. What we have is a bunch of idiots who don’t give a shit.
Why do we have smart bombs? Because the people using them are not.
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What’s not to like? So Taiwan has the Bomb. Asus will produce a moderately priced, high-quality, instant-on eeeBomb. From Acer, the price will be right. And Creative will give us the AudioBombBlaster. Buying a new bomb will probably be cheaper than the maintenance contract on the old bombs. I see opportunities for commerce.
I agree, they are probably sitting in some warehouse with a misidentified number. Since the number is wrong, they will sit there for the next millennium.
“And what they admit to is normally just the tip of the iceberg” Normally? Or, usually?
Nothing ever is “missing” in the US military. Obviously the parts were stolen. Our only hope is the folks who stole them didn’t know what they were, but I suspect some of them found their way into the hands of people that did know.
Don’t underestimate the power of a nation’s ability to reverse-engineer our stuff. Iran flys Bell 212’s and Chinooks made in their factories based off the Shah’s old helicopter fleet.