The vast nuclear arsenal of the United States has had some of its weapons dispersed worldwide, including atomic bombs lost in the depths of the ocean, potentially accessible to anyone who finds them. Amid threats from Donald Trump to unleash “Death, Fire and Fury” on Iran, concerns are rising once again about nuclear capabilities in the Middle East.
The US has taken the stance that if they cannot locate their missing bombs, known as “Broken Arrow” incidents, neither can their enemies. Currently, there are six unaccounted-for nuclear warheads out of 32 documented Broken Arrow accidents in the US. The detonation of any of these warheads could result in the annihilation of a city and the loss of millions of lives, posing a significant threat.
One incident from 1958 involved a B-47 aircraft carrying a Mark 15 hydrogen bomb near Tybee Island. Following a mid-air collision, the bomb was accidentally dropped and never recovered, despite initial claims that it was inert. The Mark 15 bomb, weighing 7,600 pounds with an explosive yield of 3.8 megatons, was released into the waters near Tybee Island.
Despite extensive efforts, including sonar searches by over 100 Navy personnel lasting two months, the Mark 15 bomb was never found. While the Air Force initially stated that the bomb’s plutonium warhead had been replaced with a lead substitute before the incident, documents from 1994 revealed that the Tybee Mark 15 was indeed a live nuclear weapon.
In a separate incident in 1966, a B-28 thermonuclear bomb was lost in the Mediterranean Sea after a collision between two US military aircraft, and its warhead remains missing. Only one of the four B28 bombs dispersed during the incident was recovered, while the warhead of the lost bomb was never located.
These incidents, along with others, are part of the 32 recorded “broken arrow” accidents, which refer to accidental events involving nuclear weapons. Despite setbacks to Iran’s nuclear program from previous US strikes, concerns persist that the country may rebuild its capabilities in the future.
Global security expert Jeffrey Lewis highlighted the potential risks, stating that even if a strike on Iran does not eliminate its regime, there are still individuals capable of restarting the nuclear program. The technology is dated, and a retaliatory Iran could follow in North Korea’s footsteps, viewing nuclear armament as a strategic move in a perceived adversarial relationship with the United States.
