As retaliatory strikes between Iran, Israel, and the United States escalate, a chilling historical mystery has resurfaced: the United States’ lost nuclear weapons. Security analysts are raising fresh alarms over at least six nuclear warheads that have remained missing for decades.
A report by the Daily Mirror on Tuesday, March 10, highlighted that in at least six separate incidents over the past several decades, U.S. nuclear weapons were lost following military accidents and have never been recovered.
In U.S. military parlance, these incidents are classified as "Broken Arrow"—a term used to describe the accidental loss, theft, or unauthorized detonation of a nuclear weapon. While official records cite 32 "Broken Arrow" incidents in total, the exact locations of at least six warheads remain unknown.
The Tybee Island Mystery
One of the most prominent cases dates back to 1958, following a mid-air collision between two U.S. Air Force jets near Tybee Island, Georgia. A B-47 Stratojet bomber was carrying a fully armed Mark 15 hydrogen bomb at the time.
To prevent a catastrophic explosion during an emergency landing, the pilot jettisoned the weapon into the waters of Wassaw Sound. The 7,600-pound bomb possesses a blast yield of approximately 3.8 megatons—roughly 190 times more powerful than the "Fat Man" bomb dropped on Nagasaki during World War II. Despite numerous search operations, the weapon remains lost at sea.
While the Air Force initially claimed the plutonium core had been replaced with a lead dummy before flight, a 1994 Congressional record suggested the Tybee Mark 15 was, in fact, a fully intact nuclear weapon.
Global Security Risks
Other missing assets include a B-26 thermonuclear bomb lost in the Mediterranean Sea following a 1966 collision.
The current military friction involving Iran has reignited fears regarding these "lost" weapons. Security experts worry that if such technology were ever intercepted by hostile states or non-state actors, the results would be catastrophic.
"If military strikes fail to achieve regime change in Iran, the country may simply rebuild its nuclear program," noted security expert Jeffrey Lewis.
He warned that even with aging technology, a vengeful state might follow North Korea’s path, viewing nuclear capability as their only definitive deterrent against U.S. power.
