After some lawmakers questioned the need for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program, top Defense Department leaders said June 23 that its future will depend on a review of the military’s nuclear posture. The Pentagon is asking for $1.1 billion to fund the GBSD program ...
ICBM Modernization and Sustainment
As the Air Force transitions its nuclear missile force from the Minuteman III to the GBSD, it will have to balance legacy systems with modernization.
Plans to upgrade facilities for the new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent program remain "on the path" to stay on budget as the Minuteman III replacement's development progresses, Air Force Lt. Gen. Warren D. Berry told a Senate subcommittee June 16. "GBSD, where you're essentially going to ...
The first Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent missile will fly by the end of 2023, and not a moment too soon, as the Minuteman III ICBM is becoming increasingly costly and challenging to keep credible, strategic system managers and commanders said during an AFA virtual forum. They ...
The Air Force should pause its major recapitalization of its intercontinental ballistic missile fleet—a move top military officials strongly oppose—as budgets tighten and other nuclear modernization efforts proceed, a key lawmaker said May 17. Rep. John Garamendi (D-California), the chairman of the House Armed Services ...
Top Department of the Air Force leaders told lawmakers May 7 they need to divest aging aircraft to make room for more advanced systems, setting up a now familiar budget fight on Capitol Hill. “America cannot wait to modernize the Air Force any longer, not ...
If strategic deterrence fails, nothing else will work as intended, said U.S. Strategic Command boss Adm. Charles “Chas” A. Richard during a virtual Brookings Institution event on May 7. “Every operational plan in the Department of Defense, and every other capability we have in DOD, ...
An unarmed Minuteman III test launch was aborted May 5 when the missile’s computer detected a fault during its terminal countdown and stopped the launch process, Air Force Global Strike Command said in a statement. The Air Force regularly tests its ICBM fleet with launches ...
With upcoming budget deliberations and an expected Nuclear Posture Review, Air Force and U.S. Strategic Command leaders are making the case that the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent is a critical program and is actually cheaper than extending the life of the aging Minuteman III. Other modernization ...