Inside the effort to replace America's Minuteman III nuclear missiles
Summary
The U.S. Air Force is working to replace its old Minuteman III nuclear missiles with a new system called Sentinel. The upgrade is behind schedule and over budget but aims to improve safety, reliability, and security of the country’s ground-based nuclear weapons.Key Facts
- About 400 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are ready for use across several states including Wyoming and Colorado.
- The Minuteman III missile system has been in use since 1961 and is well past its original design life.
- The new Sentinel missile system is bigger, faster, has longer range, and can carry more warheads than the Minuteman III.
- The Sentinel program costs roughly $141 billion, which is about 80% over the original budget.
- The U.S. Air Force is building over 450 new missile launch silos and 50 to 75 new launch centers for Sentinel.
- The first Minuteman III silo to be decommissioned as part of the transition is located near the Colorado border.
- Security at missile sites remains very tight, including teams trained to retake silos if threatened.
- Once fully operational, the Sentinel system is expected to be cheaper to maintain than the Minuteman III.
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