The charge by North Dakota Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad to “save” the 500-strong Minuteman missile force received unanimous support from the Senate. (DR 09/23/05) Conrad and friends included an amendment in the 2006 defense authorization measure that states: “It is the policy of the United States to continue to deploy a force of 500 intercontinental ballistic missiles,” barring any dramatic and “unanticipated” strategic developments in the future. Conrad feared the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review crowd was casting a budget-cutting eye toward the ICBM force.
Air Force senior statesmen explained the reasons they jointly sent a letter to Congress urging restoration of the E-7 Wedgetail and more F-35s to the fiscal 2026 defense budget.