Boeing announced Feb. 10 that it has delivered the final upgraded missile guidance set for the Minuteman III ICBM to the Air Force. The delivery occurred in December, two months ahead of schedule, and capped nearly seven years of consecutive on-time or early deliveries, the company said. Working with MMIII prime contractor Northrop Grumman, Boeing began providing the MGS units in the late 1990s under the Air Force’s guidance replacement program, which set out to replace the missile’s 1970s-vintage navigational electronics and extend the viability of the Minuteman III out to 2020. “The GRP has grown to be one of the most successful programs in the Air Force,” Sam McCrea, USAF’s acting program manager for the program, states in Boeing’s release. (For more on Minuteman III modernization, read Making It Without a Minuteman IV.)
As commander of Air Forces Central, Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich has been at the heart of almost all U.S. military action in the Middle East, from overseeing airstrikes against Iranian proxy groups to protecting troops as America’s air defense commander for the region. Just before handing over his command to…