CptStern
suckmonkey
- Joined
- May 5, 2004
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Last week those fears turned into farce when the US Air Force sent five nuclear-armed cruise missiles into US air space without realising. Fortunately, 3? hours later, the missiles were back on terra firma.
The mix-up happened when a B-52 bomber aircraft left Minot Air Base in North Dakota for Barksdale in Louisiana. Unknown to those on the ground - and presumably in the cockpit - it was carrying cruise missiles tipped with W80-1 warheads.
The bombs, with yields of five to 150 kilotonnes, or 15 times the strength of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, should have been unloaded at Minot for decommissioning.
The incident, first reported by the Military Times, has raised alarms about the security of nuclear devices and safety precautions. The US Air Force and experts said there was no risk of a nuclear detonation, even if the aircraft had crashed. The investigation will ask how an elaborate checklist of procedures for nuclear weapons was not followed by the crew.
how do you not know you're carrying nukes?
Pilot to co pilot: "go back and look see what we're carrying in the cargo area"
co pilot to Pilot: "just some long cylinder like tubes ..one end is pointy ..they have this weird symbol plastered all over the side like in that video game Half-life ..also there's this weird ticking sound ...."
Pilot to co pilot: "meh it's probably just farming equipment"
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/us...uclear-missiles/2007/09/06/1188783415457.html