Clock ticking for the Minuteman
The US strategic nuclear deterrent relies on three key components: air launched weapons, submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and the ground based strategic deterrent (GBSD).
The latter comprises 450 hardened nuclear silos containing Minuteman III missiles that are located in a crescent across the northern US states and operated by the US Air Force’s Global Strike Command.
‘Minuteman is a vital part of our nuclear deterrent triad,’ explained Frank McCall, programme manager GBSD at Boeing strategic missile and defense systems. ‘Minuteman is affordable and effective but it is facing some obsolescence issues.’
By any standards, Minuteman is an old
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