Military fear terror nuts could track down Cold War’s missing nukes and target West with dirty bomb
Up to 50 nuclear warheads are believed to have gone missing during the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s
MILITARY experts fears terrorists could track down one of the many nukes lost during the Cold War and target the west with a horrific dirty bomb.
Dozens of nuclear warheads are known to have gone missing during the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s - with many disappearing to the ocean floor.
The American Defence Department has already confirmed the loss of at least eight atomic bombs - with a combined explosive force 2,200 times the Hiroshima bomb.
The Russians have never disclosed their missing weapons - known in military circles as 'broken arrows'.
However, according to the Berlin Information Centre for Transatlantic Security up to 50 nukes have been lost across the world since the 1950s.
Most of these highly dangerous weapons are still lying on the ocean floor after military planes and subs - from both sides - sank without a trace.
And although experts say they would probably be no use as a working weapon they could easily be salvaged and the uranium used to build a so-called dirty bomb.
A dirty bomb or radiological dispersal device (RDD) is a weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives.
Isis terror fanatics – who have been working to bolster their ranks with a team of jihadi scientists capable of creating a dirty bomb – have already launched chemical attacks in Syria and Iraq.
Finding a missing nuke would be the 'holy grail' for any terror group, say security service insiders.
Now experts say the jihadis want to develop nuclear weapons that mark the biggest threat to Europe since end of the cold war.
Moshe Kantor, head of the Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe, warned: “Isis has already carried out numerous chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
"We know it wants to go further by carrying out a nuclear attack in the heart of Europe.
“This means the threat of a possible ‘dirty bomb’ attack on a Western capital is high.”
Outgoing US president Barack Obama has warned the prospect of Isis or other terrorists getting hold of a nuclear bomb is among the most serious threats faced by the world.
Speaking during the international Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC, earlier this year he said it was clear that “these mad men” would use such a device to kill as many people as they could.
The Nuclear Security Summit in Washington was the fourth and final of Barack Obama’s presidency. It is not certain whether the meetings, which he established, will continue after he leaves office next year.
For the dozens of world leaders assembled in Washington, the harrowing risk of nuclear terrorism has been at the forefront of their discussions, alongside concerns about North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
Frustration over the slow pace of reducing nuclear stockpiles has shadowed this year’s summit, Mr Obama’s last major push on denuclearisation. The absence of key players — especially Russia — further underscored the lack of unanimity still confronting global efforts to deter nuclear attacks.
“There is no doubt that if these mad men ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material, they would certainly use it to kill as many people as possible,” he said.
But first the terror group would need to get it hands on the radioactive material needed for the dirty bomb and luckily for the rest of us they haven't yet.
America's missing nukes....where are they?
STRAY 1: Into the Pacific February 13, 1950. An American B-36 bomber en route from Alaska to Texas during a training exercise lost power in three engines and began losing altitude. To lighten the aircraft the crew jettisoned its cargo, a 30-kiloton Mark 4 (Fat Man) nuclear bomb, into the Pacific Ocean. The conventional explosives detonated on impact, producing a flash and a shockwave. The bomb's uranium components were lost and never recovered.
STRAYS 2 & 3: Into Thin Air March 10, 1956. A B-47 carrying two nuclear weapon cores from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida to an overseas airbase disappeared during a scheduled air-to-air refueling over the Mediterranean Sea. After becoming lost in a thick cloud bank at 14,500 feet, the plane was never heard from again and its wreckage, including the nuclear cores, was never found.
STRAYS 4 & 5: Somewhere in a North Carolina Swamp January 24, 1961. A B-52 carrying two 24-megaton nuclear bombs crashed while taking off from an airbase in Goldsboro, North Carolina. One of the weapons sank in swampy farmland, and its uranium core was never found despite intensive search efforts to a depth of 50 feet. To ensure no one else could recover the weapon, the USAF bought a permanent easement requiring government permission to dig on the land.
STRAY 6: The Incident in Japan December 5, 1965. An A-4E Skyhawk attack aircraft carrying a 1-megaton thermonuclear weapon (hydrogen bomb) rolled off the deck of the USS Ticonderoga and fell into the Pacific Ocean. The plane and weapon sank in 16,000 feet of water and were never found. 15 years later the US Navy finally admitted that the accident had taken place, claiming it happened 500 miles from land the in relative safety of the high seas. This turned out to be not true; it actually happened about 80 miles off Japan's Ryuku island chain,
STRAYS 7 & 8: 250 kilotons of explosive power Spring, 1968. While returning to home base in Norfolk, Virginia, the USS Scorpion, a nuclear attack submarine, mysteriously sank about 400 miles to the southwest of the Azores islands. In addition to the tragic loss of all 99 crewmembers, the Scorpion was carrying two unspecified nuclear weapons—either anti-submarine missiles or torpedoes that were tipped with nuclear warheads. These could yield up to 250 kilotons explosive power (depending which kind of weapon was used).