Unneeded Nukes

Feb. 8, 2006

The Air Force will shed 50 of its Minuteman ICBMs as a result of the QDR. The Air Force explanation, from General Wood, they are “excess to our strategic needs.” He pointedly refused to discuss whether they would be converted with conventional warheads—one quick-turnaround option for getting a precision global strike capability.

Related Content

Better Goals, Data Tracking Could Help Ease Military Recruiting Strain, GAO Finds

March 28, 2023
The Department of Defense needs to collect and track more data, develop better goals and strategies, and monitor the effectiveness of its plans when it comes to recruiting and retaining service members, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released March 28. The report comes as recruiters across the…

As Unfunded Priority Lists Pour In, Austin Backs an Effort to End Them

March 28, 2023
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III wishes “wish lists” would just go away.  Asked by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) whether he would favor repealing the law requiring service leaders to provide Congress with a list of unfunded priorities at a Senate Armed Services Committee hear, Austin said “I would support…

Kendall: Air Force ‘More Committed’ to HACM After Latest Unsuccessful ARRW Test

March 28, 2023
While the Air Force released scant details about the latest test of its AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon late last week, Secretary Frank Kendall told a Congressional panel it was “not a success”—and given ARRW’s checkered test history overall, Kendall indicated the service may shift focus to its other hypersonic program, the…

Space Force Is an ‘Equal Partner’ in CENTCOM, Commander Says

March 27, 2023
The Space Force's top commander for the Middle East faces a two-fold resource problem, he said March 27. But with the support of U.S. Central Command and the Space Force, Col. Christopher Putman hopes to grow his team to confront the myriad of challenges presented to the U.S. in the…

Military Pilots Avoid Health Care to Keep Flying, New Study Suggests

March 27, 2023
U.S. military pilots avoid health care or misrepresent and withhold health information from their flight surgeon at greater rates than civilian pilots out of fear they might lose their flying status, according to a new study conducted by Air Force and civilian medical experts. Though the population size of 264…

Part-Time Wingmen: CCAs Won’t Always Be ‘Tethered’ to Crewed Platforms

March 27, 2023
Though touted as “loyal wingmen,” Collaborative Combat Aircraft may not always be paired with crewed aircraft and may function only in concert with one another or weapons in “swarms,” the better to complicate an enemy’s ability to track and counter them, senior Air Force CCA developers said. One of the…

CyberPatriot XV Crowns New National Champions

March 27, 2023
CyberPatriot XV launched last fall with 5,266 teams from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, U.S. overseas territories, and military dependent schools in Europe and the Pacific. Just 28 earned a ticket to the National Finals in Bethesda, Md., and just one team from each of three divisions…

PHOTOS: Tinker Practices ‘Weather Flush,’ Conducts E-3 Elephant Walk

March 27, 2023
More than a dozen E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control, or AWACS, aircraft lined up on the runways at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., on March 21. The crews of the distinctive E-3, with rotating radar domes perched above the fuselage, were practicing one of their more perilous missions: getting…