Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 The procurement timeline for the Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRSB) has been pushed back from the spring to summer, and the Air Force will most likely opt to award a cost-plus contract to develop the aircraft, Dr. William LaPlante, Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, told House lawmakers this week.  Northrop […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 The Air Force’s new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) is estimated to cost $40-$60 billion overall, according to an industry official involved in program discussions. Budget documents indicate the Air Force has programmed about $945.9 million for the follow-on to the Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile in the five-year Future Years’ […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) on March 4 nudged fellow lawmakers on the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to bankroll the Navy’s National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund (SBDF), which was included in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act as a separate fund from the service’s general shipbuilding account.  “We’re now in the beginning […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 National Nuclear Security Administration officials defended the agency’s decision to accelerate work on the W80-4 warhead in questioning this week from Democrats and Republicans on the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, making a case for additional funding for the warhead that will be used on the Air Force’s new […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 President Barack Obama has nominated Gen. Robin Rand for commander of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), a post currently held by Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson, according to a Feb. 27 announcement by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. Rand has more than 5,000 flight hours, primarily in F-16s, T-38s and T-37s, […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 3/6/2015 B-2 availability is increasing because of about 20 projects that help the Air Force manage its signature and parts supply, Lt. Gen.  Mike Holmes, Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements told members of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Subcommittee on March 4. Holmes […]

National Nuclear Security Administration officials defended the agency’s decision to accelerate work on the W80-4 warhead, which will be used in the Air Force’s new Long-Range Standoff weapon, in questioning yesterday from Democrats and Republicans on the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee. The Administration moved up the planned First Production Unit on the cruise […]

The Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) will most likely be funded as a cost-plus contract, the top Air Force acquisition secretary told House lawmakers yesterday. “My belief on the LRSB is…that we are doing a little bit more cutting-edge,” Dr. William LaPlante, Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, said during a hearing of the House Armed […]

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) nudged fellow lawmakers on the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee yesterday to bankroll the Navy’s National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund (SBDF), included in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act separate from the service’s general shipbuilding (SCN) account. “We’re now in the beginning of reconstituting our seaborne deterrence, and I would hope that this […]

The Congressional Budget Office has released information supplementing its January-released nuclear weapons cost study for Fiscal Year 2015-2024 estimating total government spending on nuclear weapons at $348 billion during that period. The supplemental information shows defense costs for all three legs of the nuclear triad peaking in either 2022 or 2023. National Nuclear Security Administration […]

The Air Force has nominated Global Strike Command’s Director of Operations to be the command’s next Vice Commander, according to an announcement by the service. Maj. Gen. Michael Fortney would replace current Vice Commander Maj. Gen. Richard Clark, who is shifting into Maj. Gen. Scott Vander Hamm’s 8th Air Force Commander slot, according to an […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Boeing and Lockheed Martin are working with the Air Force on the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) guidance set, known as the Concept Design and Architecture Guidance (CDAG), to explore concept formulation, technology evaluations, and risk mitigation for the technology, according to spokespeople from those companies. The two defense giants are […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 The Air Force official who oversees the U.S. nuclear bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile fleets on Jan. 20 said “nothing is off the table” in ongoing industry-government discussions to build a “faster, better, smarter” intercontinental ballistic missile system to follow the Minuteman 3. The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center is […]

House defense appropriators on Friday pressed the top two Air Force officials to explain the Pentagon’s cost estimate for the long-range strike bomber (LRSB). “I certainly appreciate the age of some of our bomber assets,” Rep. Jim Visclosky (D-Ind.), Ranking Member on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said during a hearing on Air Force’s Fiscal […]

President Barack Obama has nominated Gen. Robin Rand for commander of Global Strike Command, a post currently held by Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson, according to an announcement made by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Friday. Rand, a four-star general, currently commands Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, where he is […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/27/2015 A top Defense Department official last week identified a point of bilateral contention in the New START Treaty as a factor in U.S. deployment plans for the Long Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO).  “We did make an effort to address nuclear-armed cruise missiles in New START, and we didn’t have a […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/27/2015 Maj. Gen. Michael Fortney, Air Force Global Strike Command Director of Operations, last week said the Long-Range Strike Bomber will incorporate elements that will allow the aircraft to be nuclear-certified two years after conventional initial operating capacity (IOC), which is slated for the mid-2020s. “It’s going to be built with […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/27/2015 Weeks after the Obama Administration requested hefty funding increases to fuel the acceleration of cruise missile warhead procurement from Fiscal Year 2027 to 2025, a former Democratic staffer on the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee thinks the project could be in danger. “Whether you believe the cruise missile is […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/27/2015 The top Republican and Democrat on the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee vowed this week to push back against House leadership plans to set funding levels for the nation’s strategic and nuclear forces at sequestration levels, with Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), the ranking member of the subcommittee, suggesting such […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/27/2015 Retired Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, the former commander of U.S. Strategic Command, last week emphatically championed sweeping investments in nuclear command, control and communications (NC3), and cautioned against segregating individual NC3 components from funding. Speaking at the annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit Feb. 20, Kehler joined a group of active […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/27/2015 The Air Force is expanding its five-year nuclear enterprise funding portfolio to foster morale, equipment, and modernization improvements, as the service has programmed an additional $5.6 billion in the Fiscal Year 2016-2020 Future Years Defense Program over last year’s FYDP projection, the top Air Force official told Senators this week. […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/27/2015 Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) raised concerns during a Feb. 25 hearing of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee about the proposed expansion of the Powder River Training Complex (PRTC) overlying parts of Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas. The Air Force on Jan. 16 approved nearly quadrupling the complex, which is used […]

How would the Navy manage to build the Ohio-class Replacement in concert with the Virginia Payload Module (VPM) in the Virginia-class attack submarine in the 2020s? Sean Stackley, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, said yesterday during a hearing of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower & Projection Forces that […]

Republican senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Steve Daines (Mont.) yesterday voiced their respective approval to Air Force leaders concerning proposed Fiscal Year 2016 investments in a consolidated stealth and nuclear alert facility at Whiteman AFB, and in the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), which could fill up to 150 silos at Malmstrom AFB. According to the […]

The U.S. has dismantled the last Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile silo as dictated by the New START Treaty, according to a Tweet yesterday by the Bureau for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance (AVC). New START requires the dismantlement of 50 Peacekeeper launch facilities at F.E. Warren AFB and one Peacekeeper test launch facility at Vandenberg […]

Retired Gen. Robert Kehler, former commander of U.S. Strategic Command, on Friday emphatically championed sweeping investments in nuclear command, control and communications (NC3), and cautioned against segregating individual NC3 components from funding. Speaking at the Annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit, Kehler joined a group of active leaders throughout the nuclear enterprise in endorsing an upgrade of […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/20/2015 Industry officials appear to be concerned about potential impacts that government inspection requirements could have on the delivery schedule for Reentry Field Support Equipment (RFSE) that supports work on the Minuteman 3 re-entry systems prior to attaching the system to the missile, according to a set of questions-and-answers for the […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/20/2015 The final update of the Trident 2 D5 architecture before the debut of the Ohio-Class nuclear submarine replacement program is on track to be completed by 2024, Navy Strategic Systems Programs Director Vice Adm. Terry Benedict said this week. Construction on the Ohio-Class Replacement is expected to run from 2021 […]

The Navy is continuing to work with the Air Force to cooperate on sustaining their respective ballistic missiles as Navy Director of Strategic Systems Programs Adm. Terry Benedict estimated yesterday at the Nuclear Deterrence Summit in Washington, D.C., that submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) will compose about 70 percent of U.S. deployed strategic nuclear warheads after […]

An Industry Day for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), the expected follow-on for the Minuteman 3, is scheduled to start today at Hill AFB in Utah, and will run through Friday. Air Force Global Strike Command, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center and the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Systems Directorate are sponsoring the classified event, and attendance […]