U.S. Nuclear Transport Error Prompts Inspections

By Elaine M. Grossman
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has launched a series of inspections of its nuclear forces, following an incident last week in which six nuclear-armed missiles were transported across the central United States without the knowledge of the air crew carrying the weapons (see GSN, Sept. 6).

“The Aug. 30 B-52H [bomber aircraft] munitions transfer incident drove the need to conduct no-notice and short-notice inspections of select Air Force units,” Jennifer Bentley, an Air Force spokeswoman, told Global Security Newswire yesterday. 

Such inspections are routinely conducted at least every 18 months, she said.

However, so-called “limited nuclear surety inspections” also are carried out as deemed necessary to assess the current safety, security and reliability of the arsenal.  They could be initiated for a variety of reasons and might involve performing detailed counts of weapons and assuring the munitions are stored properly, defense sources said.

These additional examinations might affect units whose operations had been previously deemed “unsatisfactory” and could result in recommendations for improvement, according to an Air Force document outlining inspection activities, reviewed by GSN.

In general terms, such inspections “are hugely important, meticulous and stringent, as they must be,” Col. Les Kodlick, the top spokesman for Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., told GSN today.  Space Command oversees the U.S. ICBM arsenal, and the Air Combat Command operates the bomber fleet.

The episode prompting the new checks involved a bomber that mistakenly transported six nuclear-armed Advanced Cruise Missiles on a roughly 3 1/2 hour mission from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La.  The air crew reportedly was unaware that the missiles were armed with nuclear warheads and the error was discovered only after the B-52 arrived at the northwest Louisiana base.

The aircraft carried the six nuclear-tipped munitions on one wing and another six unarmed versions of the same cruise missile on the other, sources told GSN.  The cruise missiles were transported to Barksdale as part of a process to decommission 400 Advanced Cruise Missiles, but the warheads should have been removed at Minot prior to the flight, according to these sources.

Nuclear weapons are sometimes transported by air but only on cargo planes such as C-130 or C-17 aircraft, Army Times reported today.  Details about nuclear security protocols — strict rules aimed at ensuring safety and security during handling — are classified.  However, typical air transport procedures would likely affect how munitions are loaded on to aircraft and plans for flight and landing, according to the publication.

The Air Force has launched an investigation, due by Sept. 14, to better understand how the error occurred, according to a statement released Sept. 5.

Pending the inquiry, the service has already relieved the officer overseeing the Minot munitions crews, and a number of airmen have been “temporarily decertified” from performing their munitions duties, according to the statement by Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Thomas.

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