WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States mistakenly sent Taiwan four fuses used in triggers for nuclear weapons in the fall of 2006 and only discovered the mistake last week, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
The fuses were recovered Monday from Taiwan where they were believed to have been held in storage after being mistakenly shipped as helicopter batteries from a Defense Department logistics facility, senior Pentagon officials said.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered an investigation into the incident and a comprehensive review of all nuclear-related components in the US inventory, senior officials said.
It was the second major nuclear security breach uncovered in just over six months, following the mistaken transfer of nuclear armed cruise missiles from one US base to another aboard a B-52 bomber in September.
Investigators will seek to determine whether the fuses and nose cone assemblies were tampered with as well as how the error occurred and who was responsible.
China was notified of the shipment, said Ryan Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy.
"Our policy on Taiwan arm sales have not changed. This specific incident was an error in process only and is not indicative of our policies, which remain unchanged," said Ryan Henry.
The fuses fit in the nose cone of a Minuteman missile and are used to ignite the trigger of a Mark-12 nuclear weapon, the officials said.
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