The last of 450 new guidance sets have been deployed on the Minuteman III ICBM force, ending the $2.4 billion guidance replacement program “on time and on budget,” said Maj. Gen. Roger Burg, 20th Air Force commander, during a ceremony at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., Feb. 25. “We are fully operational and capable,” he added. The project started in 1999 and ended last month with removal of the 1960s-era NS-20 guidance set and addition of the NS-50 on the last missile at Minot AFB, N.D. (F.E. Warren report by TSgt. Kurt Arkenberg)
The Department of the Air Force will be taking over the Pentagon’s prototype Joint Fires Network, or JFN, as it transitions to a fully fledged program of record, program executive officer for command, control, communications, and battle management Maj. Gen. Luke C.G. Cropsey told reporters Sept. 18.