Botched US Air Force exercise at nuclear missile silo a ‘critical’ error

A US Air Force security team's botched response to a simulated assault on a nuclear missile silo has prompted a damning review followed by expanded training to deal with the nightmare scenario of a real attack.

An internal review of the exercise held last summer at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana said the security forces were unable to speedily regain control of the captured silo and called this a "critical deficiency".

A copy of the report was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The previously unreported blunder was the reason the 341st Missile Wing failed a broader safety and security inspection.

The partially censored report indicated that the security team was required to respond to the simulated capture of a Minuteman 3 nuclear missile silo by hostile forces. The exercise was termed an "Empty Quiver" scenario, in which a nuclear weapon is lost, stolen or seized.

Each of the Air Force's 450 Minuteman 3 silos contains an intercontinental ballistic missile armed with at least one nuclear warhead and ready for launch on short notice on orders from the president. The Air Force review examined why the security force showed an "inability to effectively respond to a recapture scenario".