{"id":43583,"date":"2021-01-06T17:41:50","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T17:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/01\/06\/us-strategic-command-head-defends-icbm-replacement-program\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:37:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:37:59","slug":"us-strategic-command-head-defends-icbm-replacement-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2021\/01\/06\/us-strategic-command-head-defends-icbm-replacement-program\/","title":{"rendered":"US Strategic Command chief defends ICBM replacement program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Defense Department must be allowed to press forward with replacing its Cold War-era <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2020\/09\/25\/dod-seeking-legislative-help-for-icbm-replacement-construction-costs\/\" target=_blank>Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles,<\/a> the head of U.S. Strategic Command said Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou cannot life-extend Minuteman III,\u201d said Adm. Charles Richard, who spoke with reporters during a Defense Writers Group event. \u201cIt is getting past the point of [where] it\u2019s not cost-effective to life-extend Minuteman III. You\u2019re quickly getting to the point [where] you can\u2019t do it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Richard\u2019s comments come about two weeks before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who is expected to review the nation\u2019s nuclear arsenal and could possibly roll back changes made under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the next-generation ICBM program \u2014 known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/07\/01\/next-gen-icbm-program-survives-defunding-attempt-in-house-panel\/\" target=_blank>Ground Based Strategic Deterrent<\/a> \u2014 was supported by the Obama administration, arms control groups have urged lawmakers to consider delaying the GBSD effort to save money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Richard told reporters that is not an option, given the age and obsolescence of the system of the LGM-30G Minuteman III.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat thing is so old that in some cases the [technical] drawings don\u2019t exist anymore, or where we do have drawings, they\u2019re like six generations behind the industry standard,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s not only [no one] working that can understand them \u2014 they\u2019re not alive anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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>chose Northrop Grumman<\/a> to build GBSD in September, awarding the company a $13.3 billion contract for the engineering and manufacturing development stage of the program. Boeing, the only other competitor for the program, opted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2019\/07\/25\/boeing-drops-from-next-generation-icbm-competition\/\" target=_blank>not to bid<\/a> for the contract over concerns that Northrop\u2019s acquisition of Orbital ATK \u2014 a key propulsion supplier \u2014 had tilted the competition in Northrop\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GBSD is set to begin replacing the Minuteman III in 2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force has touted GBSD as more accurate and reliable than its predecessor. Another important characteristic is its enhanced security, said Richard, who contrasted the \u201c60-year-old \u2026 circuit switch system\u201d of the Minuteman III to the modern and resilient cyber architecture that GBSD will have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis nation has never before had to face the prospect of two peer, nuclear-capable adversaries who have to be deterred differently,\u201d he said, referring to Russia and China. \u201cActions done to deter one [country] have an impact on the other. This is way more complicated than it used to be. [GBSD] is an example of a capability we\u2019re going to have to have to address threats like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense experts anticipate that \u2014 like most other new presidential administrations \u2014 the Biden administration will likely conduct<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2017\/04\/17\/the-nuclear-posture-review-is-underway-here-s-what-to-look-for\/\" target=_blank> a nuclear posture review<\/a> to reassess the United States\u2019 nuclear capabilities and ensure the military is poised to deter Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and other actors with nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Richards said he would \u201cwelcome\u201d that review, as U.S. adversaries may have fielded new capabilities since the last review was published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/02\/02\/nuclear-posture-review-puts-russia-firmly-in-crosshairs\/\" target=_blank>in 2018<\/a>. However, an assessment that focuses only on the nuclear arsenal may be too narrowly defined, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe face global threats. And then to parse our examination of those [threats] into a nuclear posture review or missile defense review, a space review, a cyber review, kind of misses the totality of what the strategic threat to this nation and our allies are,\u201d he said. \u201cI would recommend a broader-base strategic review, as opposed to parsing it out in pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s too late to pursue another life extension for the Minuteman III, the head of U.S. Strategic Command told 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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>US Strategic Command chief defends ICBM replacement program - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It&#039;s too late to pursue another life extension for the Minuteman III, the head of U.S. Strategic Command told reporters.\" \/>\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=\"US Strategic Command chief defends ICBM replacement program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It&#039;s too late to pursue another life extension for the Minuteman III, the head of U.S. Strategic Command told reporters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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