Air Force Space Command’s analysis of alternatives for a next-generation land-based strategic deterrent recently concluded that the Minuteman III ICBM should remain in service beyond the previously planned retirement date of 2020, AFSPC’s acting commander said Tuesday. Current upgrades to the existing Minuteman III fleet will leave US Strategic Command with “a lot of residual capability in the platform,” said Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, AFSPC vice commander, at a Washington, D.C., event sponsored by the National Defense University Foundation. Klotz noted that the Air Force has a wide range of MMIII improvement programs in progress that previously were designed to extend Minuteman III service lift to 2020.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
