Minuteman is a three-stage, solid-propellant nuclear deterrent ICBM housed in a survivable underground silo. Minuteman III became operational in 1970, providing improved range, rapid retargeting, and the capability to place up to three reentry vehicles on three targets with high accuracy. It is the sole operational U.S. land-based ICBM.
AFGSC initially deployed 550 missiles, later reducing that number to 400 based at Malmstrom, Minot, and F.E. Warren. Deployed ICBMs were also reduced to a single-warhead configuration in 2014 under limits imposed by the New START agreement. Minuteman III is already more than 40 years beyond its initially planned service life, and USAF expects the system will fall below readiness standards as early as 2026.
USAF awarded Northrop Grumman the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) development contract in 2019, resulting in the future LGM-35A Sentinel. AFGSC planned to begin replacing Minuteman III in 2027, with Sentinel fully replacing legacy ICBMs by 2036 but announced program delays of three or more years in 2024.
Current efforts are focused on sustaining Minuteman III’s critical deterrent capability through the full fielding of Sentinel. Guidance and propulsion upgrades must now extend systems through the late 2030s, while modernized reentry vehicles and fuzes will serve both Minuteman and Sentinel.
USAF and Lockheed Martin completed the fourth and final test of the replacement fuse clearing the way for production, as well as a successful test of the future Mk 21A reentry vehicle in 2024. FY25 additionally requested funds for Minuteman Essential Emergency Communication Network (MEECN) mods, generator reliability improvement, and access denial system life extension.
USAF is assessing sustainment requirements to keep Minuteman in service longer than expected due to delays fielding Sentinel but has ruled out another full Service Life Extension Program.
LGM-30 Minuteman III Technical Data
Contractors: Boeing; General Electric; Lockheed Martin; Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital ATK).
First Flight: February 1961.
Delivered: 1962-1978.
IOC: December 1962, Malmstrom AFB, Mont.
Production: 1,800.
Inventory: 397 deployed; 261 non-deployed.
Operator: AFGSC.
Unit Location: F. E. Warren AFB, Wyo.; Malmstrom AFB, Mont.; Minot AFB, N.D.; Vandenberg SFB, Calif. (test location).
Active Variant: •LGM-30G. Current Minuteman III variant.
Dimensions: Length 59.9 ft, diameter 5.5 ft. Weight: 79,432 lb.
Propulsion: Stage 1: Orbital ATK refurbished M55 solid-propellant motor, 202,600 lb thrust; stage 2: Orbital ATK refurbished SR19 solid-propellant motor, 60,721 lb thrust; stage 3: Orbital ATK refurbished SR73 solid- propellant motor, 34,400 lb thrust.
Performance: Speed at burnout approx 15,000 mph, range 6,000+ miles.
Guidance: Inertial guidance system.
Re-entry Vehicle: One Mk 21 RV; one to three Mk 12/12A MIRVs.
Warhead: One W87 or up to three W78 enriched uranium thermonuclear weapons.
