Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad

Industry Seeks More Clarity on Weapon System’s Capabilities and Procurement Timeline Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 Military leaders of the nuclear enterprise are developing a Concept of Operations (CONOPS) to chart an innovative, 21st century concept for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) to replace the Cold War-era Minuteman 3, U.S. Strategic Command’s (STRATCOM’s) No. 2 […]

U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) hopes to ramp up installation of its replacement for the Milstar satellite constellation, as reliability problems of the nuclear-survivable legacy system have slowed the follow-on’s procurement timeline, STRATCOM’s No. 2 official said during a speech in Washington yesterday. The military has sent a fraction of the available follow-on Advanced Extremely High […]

Defense Department efforts to develop and field nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) systems and to meet cost, schedule and performance goals have made progress, but “known capability gaps” and deficiencies remain in the system, according to a Government Accountability Office report released yesterday. “For example, development of key satellite communication terminals for strategic bomber […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 Mirroring a House counterpart, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) this week submitted an amendment to the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act that would prohibit using Defense Department funds to reduce the alert levels of U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles. The language would lift the prohibition for […]

Deploying U.S. intermediate-range cruise missiles in the United Kingdom should be considered in response to Russia’s alleged violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987 if that country doesn’t return to compliance with the agreement, the head of the House Armed Services Committee told reporters yesterday. “I think it is definitely an option which […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/5/2015 The Air Force preliminarily estimates the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent will cost $62.3 billion from Fiscal Year 2015 to FY 2044 for development, procurement and military construction (MILCON), a service spokesperson told NS&D Monitor this week. The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center’s (AFNWC’s) ICBM System Program Office (SPO) completed this draft […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/5/2015 The White House has come out in opposition to sections of the Senate version of the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act that would impose restrictions on retirements of nuclear-capable bombers and increase the funding cap for Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) programs at the Energy Department’s national laboratories. With […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/5/2015 The United States should maintain a nuclear triad, a former Defense Department official said this week, emphasizing that the U.S. fleet of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear-capable bombers hedge the sea-based deterrent. “The rationale for a triad remains as strong today as it always has been, and it will remain, […]

The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Hill AFB has awarded Boeing a sole-source $466.5 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for repairing Minuteman 3 guidance sets, the Defense Department announced yesterday. Work is expected to complete by June 2, 2021, and will be performed in Newark, Ohio. At the time of the award, $22.7 million in Fiscal […]

Members of the House Appropriations Committee are seeking more information about the Air Force’s Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), the planned Minuteman 3 follow-on. Before the committee reported to the House floor its version of the Fiscal Year 2016 defense spending bill yesterday, it also approved by unanimous voice vote an amendment to the bill’s companion […]

Previous years’ fiscal cutbacks have delayed and extended deployments of Ohio-class submarines, and a senior Pentagon submarine official on Friday said that the risk margin of operating the ballistic missile subs has been “chipped away at” since the subs debuted in the 1980s. “Pressures like this have imposed a cost to the resiliency of our […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/29/2015 The Air Force last week released its Strategic Master Plan, which outlines the nuclear mission as “the clear priority” for the service. The document largely reiterates some sentiments expressed in last year’s “America’s Air Force: A Call to the Future” strategy document, calling for stockpile and hardware investments when necessary. […]

Col. Stephen Kravitsky will take command of the 90th Missile Wing from Col. Tracey Hayes today at 9:45 a.m. Mountain Time at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. Kravitsky most recently served as the Assistant Deputy Director for Nuclear, Homeland Defense and Current Operations, Joint Staff, Pentagon, according to a May 26 Air Force press release. 

The Air Force recently released its Strategic Master Plan, which outlines the nuclear mission as “the clear priority” for the service. The plan also notes that the service maintains other capabilities to deter “a wide range of actors.” While the document describes nuclear deterrence as essential, it also states the service should be prepared to […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/22/2015 The contract for the Long-Range Strike Bomber should be awarded this summer, the Air Force’s top acquisition official said late last week. “It’ll be done when it’s done, but I’m expecting the next one to two months,” Bill LaPlante, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition), said during an Air […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/22/2015 In contrast to their colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee, House appropriators have proposed blocking funding from being transferred into the Sea-Based Deterrent Fund in their version of the FY 2016 defense appropriations bill, reported out of subcommittee this week. The fund is seen as a potential source of […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/22/2015 Members of Minot Task Force 21 met this week with North Dakota Sens. John Hoeven (R) and Heidi Heitkamp (D); Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh; and Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak, Air Force Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration; to discuss improvement and modernization […]

The Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $4.7 million contract to conduct demonstration and validation (DemVal) studies on the Mk21 MIRV shroud for use on the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, according to a Defense Department notice posted yesterday. The service did not immediately respond yesterday to a Weapons Complex Morning Briefing request for comment. The […]

The House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee yesterday released its draft of the Fiscal Year 2016 Defense Appropriations bill, which the subcommittee will mark up today. Notably, the draft would prohibit any money from being transferred into the Sea-Based Deterrent Fund. “None of the funds provided in this or any other Act may be transferred to the […]

The Air Force yesterday released a third RFI and a draft RFP for the ICBM Airborne Launch Control System Replacement (ALCS-R), a central nuclear command and control component which the service would like to use to support the Minuteman 3 through approximately 2035 and to meet alternate launch requirements for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent through […]

The contract for the Long-Range Strike Bomber should be awarded in the next one to two months, the Air Force’s top acquisition official said on Friday. “It’ll be done when it’s done, but I’m expecting the next one to two months,” Dr. Bill LaPlante, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition), said during an Air […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 The Department of Defense plans to fund the more than 50-year-old U.S. ICBM command and control structure, even if the military’s budget is limited by sequestration, a top Air Force nuclear official said this week. “The good news is significant investment in the President’s Budget to get at this, and […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 Boeing’s CEO this week played down concerns that the unsuccessful pursuit of the new Long-Range Strike Bomber could have significant impacts on the company. “There’s enough technology and we regroup and regrow organically,” Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said during a May 12 investor conference. Developed through Boeing Commercial Airlines (BCA) […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/15/2015 Navy Strategic Systems Programs intends to negotiate a modification by May 29 to accelerate the delivery and increase the number of launcher subsystem tactical hardware for installation of the 1st Article missile tube quad pack for the Ohio Replacement and UK Successor programs’ Common Missile Compartment, according to Defense Department […]

The Pentagon plans to fund the more than 50-year-old U.S. ICBM command and control structure, even if the military’s budget topline is limited to the Budget Control Act level, a top Air Force nuclear official said yesterday. “The good news is significant investment in the President’s Budget to get at this, and even at the […]

Navy Strategic Systems Programs intends to negotiate a modification by May 29, to accelerate the delivery and increase the number of launcher subsystem tactical hardware for installation of the 1st Article missile tube quad pack for the Ohio Replacement and UK Successor programs’ Common Missile Compartment, according to a Friday Defense Department announcement. Northrop Grumman […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 WARRENSBURG, Mo. — The top commander of the U.S. strategic forces pushed back this week against recent calls by a predecessor for the United States to reduce the high alert levels of its strategic deployed nuclear weapons. During the Strategic Deterrent Coalition’s symposium at the University of Central Missouri, held […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 The Air Force announced early this week plans to extend by at least three months Northrop Grumman’s Partial Bridge Contract (PBC)—comprising sustainment of the Minuteman 3 Propulsion System. The service awarded a three-month basic extension with two additional three-month options for the PBC. The PBC could conclude as late as […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/8/2015 Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) questioned on Wednesday during a Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee the top enlisted Defense Department official on why the U.S. needs a replacement for the air-launched cruise missile, and expressed concern that the replacement’s W-80 warhead will vie with nonproliferation activities for federal funding. “This is a […]

Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) questioned yesterday during a Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee the top enlisted Defense Department official on why the U.S. needs a replacement for the air-launched cruise missile, and expressed concern that the replacement’s W-80 warhead will vie with nonproliferation activities for funding. “This is a large expense, and it competes for funding […]