7 ms·

US Hellfire missile wrongly shipped to Cuba

96 points by rl3 11y ago

blackguardx 11y ago
I'm shocked that this ended up on a commercial flight. After reading Command and Control though, I'm sure this stuff happened all the time in the past and it was just quietly swept under the rug.
- dogma1138 11y ago
  It's an inert missile you can ship pretty much anything on commercial flights with a few exceptions as long as you have the proper customs authorization. The ICAO allows the transport of dangerous materials on commercial flights (even explosives) http://www.icao.int/safety/DangerousGoods/Pages/annex-18.aspx http://www.icao.int/safety/DangerousGoods/Pages/annex-18.asp...
  - ape4 11y ago
    Except no hoverboards. http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/262905-major-airlines-ban-hoverboards-on-flights http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/262905-major-airlin...
    - dogma1138 11y ago
      Those rules don't apply if you actually ship cargo, as long as the cargo is secured according to regulations it can be put on board even if it's a commercial flight which carries passengers. Even as a normal passenger you most likely can make arrangements with shipping dangerous goods with any airliner they would most likely direct you to a logistics provider that will handle it according to regulations. I've bought quite a few dangerous goods like actual pure lithium which were shipped internationally by air using regular post (which in most cases is shipped through regular commercial flights) including actually pure lithium and various pressurized gas containers. The shipping costs were not even more expensive than what would a normal package of the same size and weight would cost the only difference is that i had to send them signed customs forms approving the import prior to them shipping it to me. The only other different thing is that on one of the bigger packages (a canister of helium) the local postal service actually called me and said i have to pay extra for a specialized driver with a permit to transport dangerous goods to pick it up and deliver it to me, that actually ended up costing more than the express air shipping and oddly enough only one package was flagged which just shows how poor custom enforcement is actually is unless there's Ebay or Amazon written on the invoice in which case they know exactly how much to rip you off on import taxes.
  - ipsin 11y ago
    I was surprised too. It's not that it's dangerous, it's that it's potentially sensitive military technology. According to the WSJ story[1] cited in this link, "the shipping crate was clearly marked as containing material subject to rigorous export controls". Makes me wonder how often this sort of thing gets shipped around, and how many spy agencies have people in place with the world's various freight operations. [1] http://www.wsj.com/articles/missing-u-s-missile-shows-up-in-cuba-1452213667 http://www.wsj.com/articles/missing-u-s-missile-shows-up-in-...
dogma1138 11y ago
Well it's better than shipping not one but six god damn nukes (mounted on six god damn stealth cruise missiles apparently) to the wrong place... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_United_States_Air_Force_nuclear_weapons_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_United_States_Air_Force_n...
- leeoniya 11y ago
  and if you really wanna shit yourself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash "The two 3-4 megaton[a] MK. 39 nuclear bombs separated from the gyrating aircraft as it broke up between 1,000 and 2,000 feet (300 and 610 m). Five of the six arming mechanisms on one of the bombs activated, causing it to execute many of the steps needed to arm itself, such as charging the firing capacitors and, critically, deployment of a 100-foot-diameter (30 m) retard parachute. The parachute allowed that bomb to hit the ground with little damage."
  - sandworm101 11y ago
    Or, closer to home (my home at least)... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_British_Columbia_B-36_crash https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_British_Columbia_B-36_cra... There is some debate as to how many years any bomb parts, including the important bits, may have sat open and unguarded on Canadian soil. There is even the possibility that the core still lies somewhere nearby as we have no definitive answer as to its recovery. [Cores at this time were transported separate from the bomb. Arming involved manually inserting the core while in flight. It could be anywhere, even thrown into the sea.]
    - leeoniya 11y ago
      okay, i'll see your nuke loss and raise you one 000000 nuke launch code :) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515598/Launch-code-US-nuclear-weapons-easy-00000000.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515598/Launch-code-...
      - 11y ago
omginternets 11y ago
Meh. I don't see what they could do with it... Industrial espionage maybe, but it's not exactly new tech. The reason people buy missiles from the US has more to do with the cost of setting up weapons production infrastructure than not knowing how to build laser-guided AGMs.
- ipsin 11y ago
  It includes the firmware for a widely-deployed missile system. [How well is military firmware protected, anyway?] Even if you can't use that to improve your own missile designs, it's possible that it could lead to potential countermeasures.
patcheudor 11y ago
I am disappointed that this was not titled "The Second Cuban Missile Crisis." Opportunity missed and click-bait avoided.
- ipsin 11y ago
  Not everyone resisted the temptation. The Mirror (UK): New Cuban missile crisis as makers of Hellfire rocket send it to Havana by accident http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/new-cuban-missile-crisis-makers-7142533 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/new-cuban-missile-cr... RT: Cuban ‘Hellfire’ missile crisis: US wants rocket back after it was accidently sent to Havana https://www.rt.com/usa/328303-cuba-missile-usa-accident/ https://www.rt.com/usa/328303-cuba-missile-usa-accident/
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
rs999gti 11y ago
According to the article the missile was inert. But it is not the first time a mistake has been made. In 2010, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms sold untracked guns to Mexican Drug Cartels AKA Operation Fast and Furious, which led to the death of a US Border Patrol Agent. http://www.latimes.com/nation/atf-fast-furious-sg-storygallery.html http://www.latimes.com/nation/atf-fast-furious-sg-storygalle...
- hellbanner 11y ago
  That wasn't a mistake -- US agents were strengthening a cartel to adjust the power balance in Mexico's cartel wars.
sandworm101 11y ago
So this thing was basically just the seeker head? I can see how there might be tech in they they don't want the cubans to see, but this isn't a stealth bomber. Hellfires are sold/used/shipped all over the world. The russians/chinese have surely acquired some through back channels years ago. If not purchased, then scavenged from downed drones.
guelo 11y ago
Seems weird to me that with their billions of dollars the DoD doesn't operate a shipping network ferrying equipment back and forth that contractors can use.
- Animats 11y ago
  DoD operated the Military Air Transport Service from 1948 to 1966. It was DoD's own airline, with routes to US military bases, using civilian-type equipment. By the 1960s, civilian aviation was providing better service and using jets, so the MATS airline-type operations were shut down. Since then, DoD does only tactical airlift itself; trips between routine points are commercial, sometimes using commercial charters.
nidpori 11y ago
Or accidentally shipping "helicopter batteries" aka fuses for Minuteman nuclear missile warheads to Taiwan: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/world/asia/25cnd-military.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/world/asia/25cnd-military....
tomcam 11y ago
Imagine the press coverage if this had happened under the previous administration.
finid 11y ago
Well, at least they did not ship it to "rebels" in Syria.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
hoodoof 11y ago
Clearly a shipping error from http://www.villainsource.com/ http://www.villainsource.com/
williesleg 11y ago
It was a gift.

96 points by rl3 11y ago

I'm shocked that this ended up on a commercial flight. After reading Command and Control though, I'm sure this stuff happened all the time in the past and it was just quietly swept under the rug.

dogma1138 11y ago
It's an inert missile you can ship pretty much anything on commercial flights with a few exceptions as long as you have the proper customs authorization. The ICAO allows the transport of dangerous materials on commercial flights (even explosives) http://www.icao.int/safety/DangerousGoods/Pages/annex-18.aspx http://www.icao.int/safety/DangerousGoods/Pages/annex-18.asp...
- ape4 11y ago
  Except no hoverboards. http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/262905-major-airlines-ban-hoverboards-on-flights http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/262905-major-airlin...
  - dogma1138 11y ago
    Those rules don't apply if you actually ship cargo, as long as the cargo is secured according to regulations it can be put on board even if it's a commercial flight which carries passengers. Even as a normal passenger you most likely can make arrangements with shipping dangerous goods with any airliner they would most likely direct you to a logistics provider that will handle it according to regulations. I've bought quite a few dangerous goods like actual pure lithium which were shipped internationally by air using regular post (which in most cases is shipped through regular commercial flights) including actually pure lithium and various pressurized gas containers. The shipping costs were not even more expensive than what would a normal package of the same size and weight would cost the only difference is that i had to send them signed customs forms approving the import prior to them shipping it to me. The only other different thing is that on one of the bigger packages (a canister of helium) the local postal service actually called me and said i have to pay extra for a specialized driver with a permit to transport dangerous goods to pick it up and deliver it to me, that actually ended up costing more than the express air shipping and oddly enough only one package was flagged which just shows how poor custom enforcement is actually is unless there's Ebay or Amazon written on the invoice in which case they know exactly how much to rip you off on import taxes.
- ipsin 11y ago
  I was surprised too. It's not that it's dangerous, it's that it's potentially sensitive military technology. According to the WSJ story[1] cited in this link, "the shipping crate was clearly marked as containing material subject to rigorous export controls". Makes me wonder how often this sort of thing gets shipped around, and how many spy agencies have people in place with the world's various freight operations. [1] http://www.wsj.com/articles/missing-u-s-missile-shows-up-in-cuba-1452213667 http://www.wsj.com/articles/missing-u-s-missile-shows-up-in-...

dogma1138 11y ago

Well it's better than shipping not one but six god damn nukes (mounted on six god damn stealth cruise missiles apparently) to the wrong place... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_United_States_Air_Force_nuclear_weapons_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_United_States_Air_Force_n...

leeoniya 11y ago
and if you really wanna shit yourself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash "The two 3-4 megaton[a] MK. 39 nuclear bombs separated from the gyrating aircraft as it broke up between 1,000 and 2,000 feet (300 and 610 m). Five of the six arming mechanisms on one of the bombs activated, causing it to execute many of the steps needed to arm itself, such as charging the firing capacitors and, critically, deployment of a 100-foot-diameter (30 m) retard parachute. The parachute allowed that bomb to hit the ground with little damage."
- sandworm101 11y ago
  Or, closer to home (my home at least)... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_British_Columbia_B-36_crash https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_British_Columbia_B-36_cra... There is some debate as to how many years any bomb parts, including the important bits, may have sat open and unguarded on Canadian soil. There is even the possibility that the core still lies somewhere nearby as we have no definitive answer as to its recovery. [Cores at this time were transported separate from the bomb. Arming involved manually inserting the core while in flight. It could be anywhere, even thrown into the sea.]
  - leeoniya 11y ago
    okay, i'll see your nuke loss and raise you one 000000 nuke launch code :) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515598/Launch-code-US-nuclear-weapons-easy-00000000.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515598/Launch-code-...
    - 11y ago

omginternets 11y ago

Meh. I don't see what they could do with it... Industrial espionage maybe, but it's not exactly new tech. The reason people buy missiles from the US has more to do with the cost of setting up weapons production infrastructure than not knowing how to build laser-guided AGMs.

ipsin 11y ago
It includes the firmware for a widely-deployed missile system. [How well is military firmware protected, anyway?] Even if you can't use that to improve your own missile designs, it's possible that it could lead to potential countermeasures.

patcheudor 11y ago

I am disappointed that this was not titled "The Second Cuban Missile Crisis." Opportunity missed and click-bait avoided.

ipsin 11y ago
Not everyone resisted the temptation. The Mirror (UK): New Cuban missile crisis as makers of Hellfire rocket send it to Havana by accident http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/new-cuban-missile-crisis-makers-7142533 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/new-cuban-missile-cr... RT: Cuban ‘Hellfire’ missile crisis: US wants rocket back after it was accidently sent to Havana https://www.rt.com/usa/328303-cuba-missile-usa-accident/ https://www.rt.com/usa/328303-cuba-missile-usa-accident/
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

rs999gti 11y ago

According to the article the missile was inert. But it is not the first time a mistake has been made. In 2010, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms sold untracked guns to Mexican Drug Cartels AKA Operation Fast and Furious, which led to the death of a US Border Patrol Agent. http://www.latimes.com/nation/atf-fast-furious-sg-storygallery.html http://www.latimes.com/nation/atf-fast-furious-sg-storygalle...

hellbanner 11y ago
That wasn't a mistake -- US agents were strengthening a cartel to adjust the power balance in Mexico's cartel wars.

sandworm101 11y ago

So this thing was basically just the seeker head? I can see how there might be tech in they they don't want the cubans to see, but this isn't a stealth bomber. Hellfires are sold/used/shipped all over the world. The russians/chinese have surely acquired some through back channels years ago. If not purchased, then scavenged from downed drones.

guelo 11y ago

Seems weird to me that with their billions of dollars the DoD doesn't operate a shipping network ferrying equipment back and forth that contractors can use.

Animats 11y ago
DoD operated the Military Air Transport Service from 1948 to 1966. It was DoD's own airline, with routes to US military bases, using civilian-type equipment. By the 1960s, civilian aviation was providing better service and using jets, so the MATS airline-type operations were shut down. Since then, DoD does only tactical airlift itself; trips between routine points are commercial, sometimes using commercial charters.

nidpori 11y ago

Or accidentally shipping "helicopter batteries" aka fuses for Minuteman nuclear missile warheads to Taiwan: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/world/asia/25cnd-military.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/world/asia/25cnd-military....

tomcam 11y ago

Imagine the press coverage if this had happened under the previous administration.

finid 11y ago

Well, at least they did not ship it to "rebels" in Syria.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

hoodoof 11y ago

Clearly a shipping error from http://www.villainsource.com/ http://www.villainsource.com/

williesleg 11y ago

It was a gift.