Nuclear Weapons Incident

Date: August 30, 2007 • Location: Minot Air Force Base, United States

A heavy bomber that had been unintentionally loaded with nuclear missiles flew them from North Dakota to Louisiana before they were recognized.

Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry and longest range of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the largest and most powerful military aircraft at any point in time. In the second half of the 20th century, heavy bombers were largely superseded by strategic bombers, which were often even larger in size, had much longer ranges and were capable of delivering nuclear bombs.