U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command and the U.S. Space Force’s 30th Space Launch Delta Guardians launched an unarmed Boeing [BA] Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) equipped with three test re-entry vehicles on Sept. 6 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, in what AFGSC said has been a long line of more than 300 launches to verify the reliability of the U.S. ICBM fleet.
“The ICBM’s reentry vehicle traveled approximately 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands,” AFGSC said.
The Northrop Grumman [NOC] LGM-35A Sentinel is to replace the Minuteman III starting in 2029.
“Until full capability is achieved in the mid-2030s, the Air Force is committed to ensuring Minuteman III remains a viable deterrent,” AFGSC said.
Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command and a former commander of AFGSC, said last month that he is optimistic on Sentinel’s development (Defense Daily, Aug. 21).
Cotton, a “missileer by trade,” told reporters that he can insist with authority that the Minuteman III ICBM “is still a valid and effective weapon system.”
“As I look at where we are with Sentinel, I’m optimistic that we’re going to be able to do well,” he said. “The problem with any legacy system is the fact that the sustainment is so burdensome on the young airmen that have to maintain those weapon systems. When it comes to that, it’s being able to be more efficient on how you sustain those weapon systems moving forward. So that’s why I’m looking forward to the transition to more modernized open architecture systems.”