A missile launcher was found in a man's luggage after he tried to bring it back from Kuwait "as a souvenir", US federal officials said.

The military grade weapon was seized at Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport, the Transport Security Administration (TSA) said.

TSA officers called airport police who found the man and detained him for questioning.

The unidentified man, from Jacksonville, Texas, said he was in the military and coming home from Kuwait.

He added he wanted to keep the weapon as a souvenir.


The TSA said the missile launcher was "not a live device" but was handed over to the state fire marshal for disposal.

The passenger was later allowed to catch his flight home.