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A dummy US Hellfire missile was mistakenly shipped from Europe to Cuba in 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported [wsj.com] [paywall] on Thursday.

The inert missile did not contain any explosives, the Journal reported, but there are concerns that Cuba could share the technology with potential US adversaries such as North Korea or Russia.

The Journal report was attributed to anonymous “people familiar with the matter”.

A US official with knowledge of the situation, who wasn’t authorised to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity, confirmed its veracity to the Associated Press (AP).
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According to the defense department, the Hellfire is a laser-guided, air-to-surface missile that weighs about 45kg (100lb). It can be deployed from an attack helicopter such as the Apache or an unmanned drone such as the Predator. It is manufactured by Lockheed Martin.

The US official told the AP that Lockheed was authorised to export the dummy missile for a Nato training exercise. The official attributed the shipping error to Lockheed’s freight forwarders, and said the US was working with Lockheed to get the device back.