Minuteman III ICBMs to keep ticking until 2050

Much like Delta’s trans-Atlantic 767 fleet and the misuse of the word gaslighting, the US’s Minuteman III ICBMs hang around in a show of anachronism, finds GAO as reported by Defense News. While the Air Force previous projected the ICBMs’ retirement by 2036, they may now hang around until 2050, three-quarters of a century after their entombment across the heartland.

Their replacement, the LGM-35A Sentinel, predictably has run into delays and overruns. Meanwhile, the “Air Force regularly conducts test flights of unarmed Minuteman III missiles several times a year to ensure they stay reliable and accurate, as well as demonstrating the United States’ nuclear deterrent to nations around the world.” Maintaining these flight tests will be challenging as replacement parts become increasingly scarce. Already, the Air Force has received permission to conduct fewer tests each year.

One solution is the so-called Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle configuration in which each missile carries up to three nuclear warheads. Some ICBMs previously had this capability in the 1970s, which was removed in compliance with arms-control treaties.