On July 16, the U.S. Air Force released a request for proposals for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), its next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The GBSD is intended to replace the Minuteman III ICBMs currently in service. Under the solicitation, one prime contractor—either Boeing or Northrop Grumman—will produce the first 5 lots of the...
Like its three predecessors, the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review reaffirmed the need for the nuclear triad of bombers, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Now comes the hard part. With the authorization and appropriation cycle for fiscal 2020 now underway, the United States is moving closer to the coming bow wave of modernization efforts...
On May 12, The Washington Post reported that it had obtained a Defense Department document outlining the Pentagon’s plan to shift $1.5 billion originally designed for military projects such as the Minuteman III ballistic missile program and the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) to fund the border wall. Two days earlier, Acting Secretary Patrick...
On May 9, the U.S. Air Force conducted a test launch of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), marking the second such test conducted this month. According to the Air Force, the unarmed missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and landed over 6,700 km away in Kwajalein Atoll. Related Links:...
On May 1, the U.S. Air Force test fired an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The missile’s mock warhead traveled about 6,700 km across the Pacific Ocean to a target in the Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. The USAF last tested the Minuteman III in February. Related Links:...
On February 5, the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command test launched an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The missile’s mock warhead traveled about 6,760 km across the Pacific Ocean to its destination in the Kwajalein Atoll. The Air Force told reporters that the launch provides “instrumental data for future...
On November 6, the U.S. Air Force successfully test fired an unarmed Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Fired out of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the missile traveled approximately 6,800 km across the Pacific before striking a target area at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. According to Global Strike Command spokesman Joe...
On July 31, the U.S. Air Force initiated the test flight of an unarmed LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Vandenburg Air Force Base in California bound for a target in the Marshall Islands. The test was a long-planned operational launch intended to provide feedback on the effectiveness of the launch system, command...
On October 2, the United States Air Force announced the completion of a $68 million upgrade to the LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles at Minot Air Force Base to decrease load and launch times. The upgraded component, called a Data Transfer Unit (DTU), replaced aging systems responsible for loading the missile with data and...
On August 21, the U.S. Air Force awarded contracts to Boeing and Northrop Grumman, $349.2 million and $328.6 million respectively, for the development of a new ICBM to replace the nearly 50 year old LGM-30G Minuteman III. Part of the nascent Ground Based Strategic Deterrence project (GBSD), the companies will have until August 2020 to...
