U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will most likely appoint Michael Donley as the next chief of the Air Force, Reuters reported quoting a senior U.S. defense official. Donley is the current director of the Pentagon's administration and management office.

Donley, who wouldn’t be at his first position in the Air Force, would take the place of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, who was fired by Gates Thursday over several mistakes involving management of America's nuclear weapons and parts.

U.S. Defense Secretary also fired Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force's top leader after an investigation which concluded that he and Wynne were responsible for the errors that led to a shipment of nuclear missile fuses to Taiwan.

According to the investigator’s report, "several" generals and other senior Air Force and Army officers were responsible for the faulty shipment to Taiwan, said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.

The mistaken shipment of nuclear fuses was the latest in a series of incidents reflected “a pattern of poor performance” in securing sensitive military components, said Gates at a Pentagon briefing.

The punishment for all the officers involved in the critical mistake will be established once the Air Force's new leadership team takes office.

Michael Donley was assistant Air Force secretary for financial management for four years between 1989 and 1993 and also worked as Air Force secretary for seven months.