Additional Coverage:
The United States’ extensive nuclear arsenal includes several weapons lost around the world-some resting at the bottom of oceans, potentially waiting to be found. As tensions rise again with President Donald Trump threatening “Death, Fire and Fury” toward Iran, concerns about nuclear weapons in the Middle East have intensified.
Among these lost weapons are six unaccounted-for nuclear warheads from 32 documented “Broken Arrow” incidents-military terminology for accidental events involving nuclear arms, such as loss or unintended detonation. The potential devastation from even one of these missing warheads, capable of destroying an entire city and causing millions of casualties, raises significant alarm.
One notable case occurred in 1958 near Tybee Island, Georgia, when a B-47 bomber carrying a Mark 15 hydrogen bomb collided mid-air and jettisoned the bomb into Wassaw Sound. Despite a two-month search involving over 100 Navy personnel using sonar equipment, the 7,600-pound weapon-boasting a yield of 3.8 megatons, nearly 200 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Nagasaki-was never recovered. While the Air Force initially claimed the bomb’s plutonium core had been removed and replaced with a lead substitute, documents released decades later confirmed it was a fully functional nuclear device.
Another incident in 1966 involved a B-28 thermonuclear bomb lost in the Mediterranean Sea after a mid-air collision between U.S. military aircraft. While three of the four bombs were recovered on land, the warhead of the fourth remains missing. Witnesses, including a Spanish shrimp fisherman, reported seeing the bomb’s distinctive white casing descend into the sea.
These incidents underscore the ongoing risks associated with nuclear weapons, especially as geopolitical tensions persist. Although U.S. airstrikes and joint operations with Israel have reportedly hindered Iran’s nuclear program, experts warn that rebuilding capabilities remains a real possibility. Global security analyst Jeffrey Lewis cautions that if current efforts fail to remove the regime, Iran-with its pool of skilled personnel and decades-old technology-may choose to pursue nuclear weapons as a deterrent, similar to North Korea’s approach in a volatile global landscape.
The shadow of lost nuclear weapons and the uncertain future of nuclear proliferation continue to challenge global security efforts as the world watches closely.