Pentagon shipped ballistic missile parts to Taiwan

The Pentagon says it mistakenly shipped non-nuclear ballistic missile fuses to Taiwan.

Nose cone fuses for intercontinental ballistic missiles were shipped instead of the helicopter batteries that Taiwan had requested, the Pentagon said.

The fuses were mistakenly shipped from a U.S. Air Force base in Wyoming.

The fuses were shipped to Taiwan in 2006 and kept in a warehouse there. The Taiwanese military informed the U.S. last week about their presence on the island.

The components were retrieved by the U.S. military and moved to a secure facility in the United States.

"This could not be construed as being nuclear material. It is a component for the fuse in the nosecone for a nuclear system," a spokesman said. "We are very concerned about it."

The spokesman said the matter is under investigation. He said the Taiwanese authorities notified U.S. officials of the mistake.

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