Plan to replace hundreds of US Minuteman III missiles faces obstacles

The US Air Force has announced that its replacement of the US land-based nuclear weapons, including Minuteman III missiles, has officially exceeded its budget by $95.8 billion due to the Covid-19 pandemic and inflation, Reuters reported on January 19.

The Air Force is currently briefing Congress on the program, which is designed and managed by Northrop Grumman, and it has exceeded its estimated cost by at least 37% as of September 2020, according to Andrew Hunter, an official with the Air Force’s acquisition, technology and logistics division.

Changes to the program, such as building larger silos and switching to more durable materials, have also increased costs.

The total cost of the program, currently estimated at more than $131 billion, could rise further when US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin concludes a review this summer.

While cost overruns are common at the Defense Department , replacing the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is particularly expensive.

The missile network is part of a nuclear triad, which includes land-based nuclear-tipped ICBMs, nuclear-capable bombers and submarine-launched nuclear weapons.

Exceeding the cost estimate threshold triggers the Nunn-McCurdy Act, a 1982 law that requires the Pentagon to formally explain to Congress the importance of a program if costs increase by more than 25 percent and there are no other options.

The cost overruns were mainly related to the modernization of 450 missile silos and command infrastructure, including 12,070 km of new cables, in addition to truck purchases, training and other items.

The Minuteman III replacement program is called Sentinel and has several phases including development, design and procurement. In 2020, Northrop Grumman won a $13.3 billion contract to design, test, evaluate and advance the program.