Missileers at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., have begun the deactivation process that will remove 50 Minuteman ICBMs from the arsenal of the 341st Space Wing. The wing received formal word last month to begin the process. Once the deactivation job is complete, with removal of the missiles and shut down five alert facilities in north central Montana, the wing will deactivate the 564th Missile Squadron. The wing will retain another 150 Minuteman missile systems—all the same type. Eliminating 50 ICBMs was part of the last Quadrennial Defense Review, which directed the Air Force to cut the force from 500 to 450 missiles.
Senior U.S. lawmakers expressed frustration that they are being cut out of some of the Trump administration’s most central decisions on military policy and spending. Their concerns, which are shared on both sides of the aisle, concern the budget reconciliation process as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plans to slash…