The Air Force has awarded Boeing $110 million for an overhaul of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile flight test system. Under the contract, announced Oct. 2, Boeing will redesign the flight telemetry and termination system for the Minuteman III fleet with work set to be completed by Aug. 31, 2019. Work kicks off with almost $5 million in research, development, test, and evaluation funding in Fiscal 2015, taking place at Boeing facilities near Hill AFB, Utah, along with sites in California and Ohio. The Air Force periodically test launches unarmed Minuteman III ICBMs from its range at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., to ensure the fleet stays reliable. The service selects a missile and crew from one of its three operational ICBM bases, and launches the missile to a site in the Pacific Ocean near the Kwajalein Atoll.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.