Defense News
The Air Force will have to dig entirely new nuclear missile silos for the LGM-35A Sentinel, creating another complication for a troubled program that is already facing future cost and schedule overruns.
The Air Force originally hoped the existing silos that have housed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles could be adapted to launch Sentinel missiles, which would be more efficient than digging entirely new silos.
But a test project at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California showed that approach would be fraught with further problems and cause the program to run even further behind and over budget, the service said.
“As the [Sentinel] program continues to undergo restructuring activities, the Air Force analysis continues to confirm unacceptable risks to cost, schedule and weapon system performance stemming from the original baseline strategy of converting Minuteman III silos,” an Air Force spokesperson said in an email Tuesday. “Additionally, we have data based on a test launch facility conversion project at Vandenberg Space Force Base that validated the implications of unknown site conditions with significant cost and schedule growth.
