{"id":26007,"date":"2021-04-22T09:38:17","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T09:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/04\/22\/lawmakers-dod-officials-joust-over-next-gen-icbm-plans\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:15:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:15:40","slug":"lawmakers-dod-officials-joust-over-next-gen-icbm-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/04\/22\/lawmakers-dod-officials-joust-over-next-gen-icbm-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers, defense officials joust over next-gen ICBM plans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2015 The war over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2021\/02\/05\/majority-of-voters-support-icbm-replacement-alternatives-new-poll-finds\/\" target=_blank>developing a next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile<\/a> \u2015 whether it\u2019s vital to deter Russia and China, as conservatives say, or whether existing missiles can be overhauled for less \u2015 flared up at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawmakers from both parties leveled pointed questions at Pentagon officials over whether it\u2019s worthwhile to study extending the life of the 50-year-old Minuteman III as an alternative to its $100 billion replacement program, the Air Force\u2019s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the lead up to the Biden administration\u2019s far-reaching nuclear posture review, left-leaning lawmakers say the Pentagon\u2019s $1.2 trillion nuclear modernization plans are a money pit and question whether the United States could deter its rivals for less with only its bombers and submarines. Conservative lawmakers worried GBSD needs protection from cancellation are opposing further analysis by the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Progressives last month offered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markey.senate.gov\/news\/press-releases\/senator-markey-rep-khanna-introduce-the-investing-in-vaccines-before-missiles-icbm-act\" target=_blank>legislation<\/a> to scrap GBSD and shift $1 billion from the program to help develop a COVID vaccine \u2015 potentially a long shot after the panel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/07\/01\/next-gen-icbm-program-survives-defunding-attempt-in-house-panel\/\" target=_blank>rejected<\/a> a similar measure to defund GBSD last year, in a bipartisan vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Northrop Grumman, which the Air Force <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2020\/09\/08\/northrop-wins-the-air-forces-contest-for-next-gen-icbms\/\" target=_blank>awarded<\/a> a $13.3 billion contract in September to develop GBSD, has a lot riding on the outcome of the debate. So do the states that host the Minuteman III, deployed across Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wyoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GBSD\u2019s high-powered defenders from both parties include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2021\/03\/01\/senate-defense-appropriations-chair-talks-nuclear-modernization-defense-cuts-and-earmarks\/\" target=_blank>Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jon Tester<\/a>, D-Mont., who vowed in public remarks to be \u201cworking to make sure that this program stays on track.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/03\/22\/battle-over-nuclear-weapons-budget-already-underway\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"201\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1220896006.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Washington\u2019s battle over nuclear weapons budget already underway<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. budget cycle is just getting started, but already Democrats and Republicans are in a war of words over whether to curb or continue the trajectory of spending on nuclear weapons modernization.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wednesday\u2019s venue was a hearing before the House Strategic Forces Subcommittee, where the panel\u2019s top Republican, Rep. Mike Turner, said he\u2019d been told of a recently-initiated Pentagon study into the cost-effectiveness of cannibalizing parts from 200 Minuteman III\u2019s to stretch the lives of other 200.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turner, of Ohio, asked Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense, Strategy, Plans and Capabilities Melissa Dalton whether a study by the Pentagon\u2019s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office was ongoing, as he\u2019d heard, and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery time this has been studied, it\u2019s been seen as ill-advised, to look at any life extension of Minuteman III \u2015 not just merely for costs but also for capabilities,\u201d Turner said. \u201cMs. Dalton, are you aware of this study, did you approve it and what is in this study?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amid Turner\u2019s questions, Dalton said she wasn\u2019t aware any such study was underway but said she\u2019d look into it and keep Turner informed. The GBSD program would be examined, she said, in the course of drafting the Biden administration\u2019s nuclear posture review and national defense strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the strategic reviews look at threats and current capabilities to counter them, \u201cwe will of course be looking at at cost and what is the right balance of the mix of programs that may be necessary to have a safe, effective, and secure nuclear deterrent well into the future,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sources previously told Defense News that either a CAPE analysis was underway or under discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hearing\u2019s sharpest exchanges were between California Democratic Rep. John Garamendi, whose amendment to require DoD study a life-extension to 2050 died in committee last year, and U.S. Strategic Command\u2019s chief, Adm. Charles Richard, who argues the Minuteman IIIs is dangerously obsolete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Richard said the Defense Department had reported several times to Congress \u2015 in a 2019 analysis most recently \u2015 that a life-extension would not be cost-effective, Garamendi cut him off to say the assumption in DoD\u2019s analysis was that Minuteman III\u2019s life could be extended. Then Richard grew more emphatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrom an operational point of view, I do not see an operational reason to even attempt to do that,\u201d Richard replied. \u201cThe Minuteman III is 1970s-era, designed to go against Soviet analog defenses. I need a weapon that will work and make it to the target, and to expect that, in the timeframes you\u2019re talking about, to penetrate potentially advanced Russian and Chinese systems is going to be a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Garamendi cited 2019 testimony that it would be technologically feasible to extend the life of the propulsion and guidance systems one more time (the witness then was Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, then the Air Force\u2019s deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration), Richard pointed out that the Air Force would be the best source of any cost analysis and the defense secretary the ultimate decider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNow don\u2019t go off talking to me about the secretary of defense. We\u2019re talking about the viability of the Minuteman III,\u201d Garamendi said. \u201cIf I\u2019m incorrect and it is not possible to extend it one more time, then please provide the written documentation to that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2021\/04\/20\/us-bombers-could-go-back-on-alert-if-icbms-are-curtailed-top-general-says\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5955077.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US bombers could go back on alert if ICBMs are curtailed, top general says<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">U.S. Strategic Command head Adm. Charles Richards argued in favor of keeping new ICBMs on track during a Tuesday congressional hearing.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Richard said, as an operational commander, he wasn\u2019t sure it was technically possible to extend the life of the Minuteman III or harden its command-and-control systems from a cyber attack, as those systems were \u201cdesigned before the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhy are you not sure? It\u2019s your business to be sure,\u201d Garamendi said, prompting Richard to fire back: \u201cExactly. That\u2019s why I need a new one.\u201d Then Garamendi\u2019s time expired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later, Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney pushed back, saying her colleagues\u2019 solution to Russia and China\u2019s nuclear buildup and expansion programs, \u201cis for us to risk our own security, to tie our own hands with \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2021\/04\/16\/democrats-reintroduce-bill-to-bar-us-from-using-nuclear-weapons-first\/\" target=_blank>no-first use<\/a>,\u2019 to reduce our own capabilities, to delay yet again modernization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While China is estimated to have about 320 warheads \u2015 much less than the U.S. and Russia \u2015 Richard said its arsenal is undergoing \u201ca breathtaking expansion.\u201d By way of contrast, Richard went on to say the long list of scarce parts for America\u2019s Minuteman III includes a launch switch for control centers that no company will manufacture anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s like asking a company to make a dial-up modem. There\u2019s no profit in doing something like that,\u201d Richard said. \u201cThe Air Force has been consistently pulling rabbits out of the hat to solve these problems. I\u2019m afraid there\u2019s a point where they won\u2019t be able to pull the rabbit out of the hat and the system won\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The war over a next-gen ICBM flared up at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":44182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[8,160,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3446,3378,3384],"class_list":["post-26007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"COX4ZPBGAJCGBE6ICFG7QGO4VE","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/2021\/04\/23\/lawmakers-dod-officials-joust-over-next-gen-icbm-plans\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lawmakers, defense officials joust over next-gen ICBM plans - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The war over a next-gen ICBM flared up at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lawmakers, defense officials joust over next-gen ICBM plans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The war over a next-gen ICBM flared up at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/04\/22\/lawmakers-dod-officials-joust-over-next-gen-icbm-plans\/\" 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