This fall, the Defense Department may approve an updated acquisition strategy for the Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel future ICBM before a possible re-approval of the program for engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) by early to mid-2027.
“We are definitely making sure we get the restructure of the program right,” Brig. Gen. William Rogers, program executive officer for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), said Monday at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference. The gathering is being held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center. “We are really looking, based on the analysis, to early-to-mid 2027.”
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink has said that he has spent considerable time considering the restructuring of the program since taking the helm of the Department of the Air Force in May.
“I am much more confident of the [Sentinel] program than when I first got in the job,” Meink told reporters on Monday. “We also have to remember this is probably one of the largest public works programs since we did the last ICBM fielding.”
There will be 659 Sentinel missiles – including 25 test – to replace 450 Boeing Minuteman IIIs – 400 deployed and 50 reserve – fielded in the 1970s.
Acting Air Force acquisition chief William Bailey, who also serves as the director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, said that “while this [restructuring] is going on, the work continues on the program” and that “we’ve had plenty of time working out with industry as to what the scope is and how we get that done.”
Bailey said that “we have frequent interactions” with Pentagon acquisition boss Michael Duffey. Duffey would be responsible for the necessary re-approval of EMD, which DoD first gave in 2020 but then rescinded last year after a critical Nunn-McCurdy unit cost breach. Then-Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter said it would take 18 to 24 months to develop a new Sentinel acquisition program baseline and restructure the program.
Nevertheless, the Air Force said that it has continued work on the Sentinel missile, including its command and launch systems, and the wing command centers, while initially pausing launch silo and launch center infrastructure work.
“With the launch silos and launch centers, we’ve turned Northrop back on on the concept design work,” Rogers said.
Northrop Grumman said on Tuesday that it has tested “every segment of Sentinel, including recent static fire qualification tests on Stage 1 and Stage 2 segments.”
“We’ve resumed silo design work and made progress designing and testing support equipment,” the company said. “We will continue to work closely with the Air Force to restructure the program to meet the Air Force’s cost and schedule requirements.”
Initial operational capability for Sentinel was May 2029, but that has shifted to the end of 2033.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this story.