Goofs

The "Gold" bomb (setting aside the micro-nuke as not a real thing) has a never explained and clearly also bizarre anti-tilt system. The bomb, apparently, cannot be tilted, but it does so visibly on screen all the time. It is impossible to fly in a helicopter, lower by cable, and do the other actions with a large object like this and not tilt it, and it routinely tilts up to 10° while in shot.

The Air Force officer talking to the President calls Dell "a soldier" when he should refer to him as an airman or officer, but never a soldier. No member of the Air Force would call another member of the Air Force a soldier.

Some of the military personnel, like Mackenzie's driver, have hair that is too long.

It is inconceivable that the door from an access hallway to the missile silo would be left open, as it is the entire movie. Missiles are hilariously dangerous, and routine work has caused explosions and fires on numerous occasions. Just for one example, the 1965 Searcy missile silo fire killed 52 of 55 workers around the missile for fairly routine maintenance (else they wouldn't have so many around it!), years before this book, or film.

To seize control of the 9 missiles and be able to operate their launch control panel, the infiltrators must first disarm security measures like poison gas. There is not, and has never been, any destructive or lethal devices such as these inside a missile silo.

The President's US Air Force aide is wearing a Combat Infrantryman Badge (an Army skill badge).

None of the tanks used in the film have ever been used by the US. Some are Hotchkiss SPz 11-2 tanks in German service, one even is a Panzerjaeger G13 of the Swiss army (a derivative of the German Hetzer 38T). One of the helicopters used is a German BO-105.

When the attackers enter the launch control center, you can see that the 'massive' vault door, while thick, has no locking bolts on the side and thus must be fake.

In the first close-up of Air Force 1 from the front, you can see the plane has only been painted on one side. No blue on the upper right of the cockpit.

In the finale, a monitor is shown in closeup with controls clearly labeled in German (and some in English on a second line), betraying the German locations used for filming.

Towards the end of the film, the song of a chiffchaff is clearly heard during footage of the sharpshooters. Chiffchaffs are not present in the US, so this clearly reveals that the film was shot elsewhere - they are only present in Europe, Asia and Africa.

The film is set to take place in 1981, then four years into the future. The Titan (I) missile was already retired in 1965. The Titan II missile was still in service in 1981, although even that had originally been scheduled to be retired beginning in 1971. This is relevant not the least because the Titan II was fired from its silos while its less advanced predecessor Titan I needed to be fueled up first and raised from the silo on a giant elevator system (as shown in the movie).

A title card announces that the film takes place on Sunday, November 16, 1981. November 16 was a Monday that year.

It is said that the press plane claimed to develop engine trouble over St. Louis. There is no reasonable great circle route between Andrews Air Force Base (ADW) and any destination in Montana, including Malmstrom (GFA), that goes anywhere near St. Louis.

The opening titles are shown against an image of the Statue of Liberty and the sun near the horizon. However, although this movie is titled "Twilight's Last Gleaming", it is obvious from the orientation of the statue and the sun that the image is of a sunrise.

In highly specialized units such as a missile wing, operating from a supporting air force base, everyone would know almost everyone else from routine training and regular briefings. While security access measures are strictly followed, including code words and ID's which could be stolen (or faked), to have 3 previously unseen uniformed airmen be able to enter a missile launch facility without also being recognized from prior personnel interaction as co-workers is ludicrous - this would also include their voices when using verbal authentication procedures. Further, Burt Lancaster's character is notorious for being a convicted General, and would be visually recognized by at least some of air force members he encountered during his entry to the missile site.

There is no medical team in evidence in the final scene. If the president ever were put in harm's way as depicted here, a medical team would be present, perhaps disguised to fool the villains, but they would be there to try to save a wounded president.

Why not position tanks or some kind of fighting vehicles 1500 yards from the silos to try and shoot down the missiles as they are launched? ICBMs initially move very slowly and they are not armored in any way. There would even be a good chance of hitting something critical with a well-placed rifle round. A 20mm auto cannon would definitely do it.

Powell stated that he lied when Dell asks him about his experience with Titan missiles and ICBM security. This is completely improbable as these career fields are so detailed and require such specific areas of knowledge that faking ones way through even the most basic conversation would difficult. To do so for months or years while planning a mission would be nearly impossible.

Additionally, the General could have simply asked the records clerk at the prison to look into Powell's background. The AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code) for his career field would have indicated whether he had any experience with ICBMs'

Officers in confinement often self-segregate from the general prison population while in military confinement. The shame of confinement coupled with the resentment that many military convicts feel towards current or former officers means that they rarely interact with former enlisted prisoners. Dell, being a former general, would be very unlikely to associate with Powell, Garavs or Hoxey, much less get to know them well enough to plan a heist.

At about 30 minutes into the movie, the officer giving a SAC briefing begins with "Good morning, gentlemen. 16 November 1981. Julian date 81215". Those are not the same date, and in fact are over three months apart.

The USAF helicopters sent to recon the silo area, are carrying civilian Italian registrations.

During the torture of the airman in order to reveal the safe's combination, the torturer refers to the stabbed officer as "Captain" but he wears Lt. Colonel's rank insignia.