NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—The Air Force and Northrop Grumman are pouring billions of dollars toward cybersecurity and digital modeling and testing for the new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, highlighting the scale and sweeping changes of ICBM modernization. And while the program...
Sentinel ICBM
The Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile's second stage rocket performed largely as predicted by digital models in a recent vacuum chamber test, the Air Force and Northrop Grumman said, laying the groundwork for further testing that will allow the company to finalize the stage’s design in ...
A work pause on the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program is over, and Northrop Grumman has moved into negotiations with the Air Force about accelerating B-21 bomber production, company officials said July 22.
Matthew Lohmeier, who was fired from a Space Force squadron command just two years ago, took another step in his unlikely journey to the Department of the Air Force's No. 2 job May 1, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee that his background as ...
Troy Meink, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Air Force Secretary, endorsed nuclear modernization at his confirmation hearing March 27.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall doesn’t see great value in trying to break the Sentinel ICBM program off as a separate budget item the way the Navy has with its ballistic-missile submarine program, saying such a move wouldn’t create any new money for the Air ...
Leaders seem to be hedging, with senior service leaders indicating concern over NGAD’s costs and raising questions about the future of U.S. air dominance.
The Air Force will take steps to ensure its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles can keep operating while the new Sentinel ICBM is delayed—but the moves won’t constitute a service life extension program, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration Lt. Gen. ...
The Pentagon certified the Air Force’s Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program to continue despite 81 percent cost growth after a six-month review determined there are no other acceptable alternatives. Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante announced the decision, but did not say ...
The Air Force and Lockheed Martin announced their first test of a new reentry vehicle that is planned to go atop the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile. The operational test launch of an unarmed Mk21A took place late June 17 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. ...
The Senate Armed Service Committee's mark of the 2025 defense policy bill includes 17 programmatic changes or demands for reports or assessments focused on strengthening the nation’s nuclear arsenal, as deterrence becomes a multipolar competition requiring new thinking.
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, ...
