Boeing announced Tuesday that it has delivered upgraded cryptography devices for the nation’s Minuteman III ICBMs. This equipment, which will be installed at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and Minot AFB, N.D., will provide enhanced communications security between the Minuteman launch control centers and launch facilities. “Enabling the Air Force to install these units is a vital step as we work together to enhance the security of this important nuclear deterrent,” said Peggy Morse, director of Boeing Strategic Missile Systems. Boeing supplied these devices to Northrop Grumman, the Air Force’s prime contractor for Minuteman III modernization. They are part of the ICBM cryptography upgrade program, one of the initiatives underway to keep the Minuteman III viable as a weapon system out to 2020 or beyond.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.