WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. military appears to have misplaced hundreds of nuclear missile components, officials told The Financial Times.

The newspaper said it learned details of a report from the Defense Department on the security of nuclear weapons. One official said that more than 1,000 parts cannot be accounted for.


Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently fired two top Air Force officials after learning that missile nose cones had been mistakenly sent to Taiwan. Officials said that the report detailed more missing inventory.

Last year, in another error, a bomber flew across the United States carrying nuclear missiles.