The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center tested its new intercontinental ballistic missile reentry vehicle Oct. 9, launching the developmental vehicle atop a Minotaur I rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.
ICBM modernization
The design of the launch facilities for the Air Force’s new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile are likely to undergo major revision, posing yet another challenge for the much-delayed and over-budget program to modernize the land-based component of America’s nuclear triad, officials said.
Air Force officials are re-examining the infrastructure overhaul that sent costs soaring over plan for the next-generation Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile upgrade.
Nearly 20 Air Force brigadier generals have been nominated to pin on second stars, the Pentagon announced July 10, including the service’s acquisition czar for C3 and battle management and the head of a new office created to oversee the modernization of the Air Force’s ...
In a world where nuclear weapons continue to proliferate, it’s easy to forget sometimes that our own nuclear readiness is a foundational element of our national security. Indeed, it is every bit as vital to national security today as it was during the Cold War, ...
The Air Force is looking at a variety of potential offsets to cover the $35 billion overrun on the Sentinel ICBM, but senior service officials hope the offsets can be found from outside the service's regular budget.
A test of the LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM’s second stage rocket motor in a vacuum chamber was successful and will help the company validate performance predictions made in its digital design, the company announced.
The new Sentinel ICBM program is “struggling a little bit” because of its complexity, involving system development, a new communications system, civil engineering, and real estate, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said. He has more optimism about the B-21 bomber than the Sentinel, he added.
The cost of the nuclear AGM-181 Long-Range Stand Off missile has come down slightly and the program is on track, but several technologies it relies on are still considered immature, the Government Accountability Office found in a report. Meanwhile, the GAO also assessed the LGM-35A ...
Lt. Gen. Jim Dawkins, Air Force deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, hosts Jim Kowalski, vice president and corporate lead executive of Air Force Customer Relations Team at Northrop Grumman; Paul Ferraro, president of airpower at Raytheon Missiles and Defense; and ...
A new report by the RAND Corp. cites support from the White House and Congress for modernizing the nuclear triad, but its authors also offer a stark warning to the Air Force, which owns two of the triad’s three legs—to “not take this support for ...
A vast majority of voters believe nuclear deterrence should be one of the highest priorities for the Department of Defense, with a majority also supporting modernization efforts, according to a new survey. The survey, commissioned by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and run by ...