The U.S. Air Force Wants 400 New High-Tech ICBMs

Scout Warrior: Air Force Reviews Vendor Bids to Build New ICBMs Engineered With High-Tech Upgrades

Air Force plans to build at least 400 new high-tech ICBMs intended to preserve millions of lives by ensuring annhiliation of anyone choosing to launch a nuclear attack. The idea is to prevent major power wars.

Air Force officials say the service will award some contracts as part of its ongoing evaluation of formal proposals from three vendors competing to build hundreds of new, next-generation Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles designed to protect the US homeland well into the 2070s and beyond, service officials said.

Submissions from Northrop, Boeing and Lockheed are now being reviewed by Air Force weapons developers looking to modernize the US land-based nuclear missile arsenal and replace the 1970s-era Boeing-built Minuteman IIIs. Service officials told Scout Warrior a contract award is expected later this year.

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WNU Editor: This is not going to be a cheap upgrade ....

.... Citing a Congressional Research Service report, a story in National Defense Magazine says the GBSD the program is expected to cost $62 billion from 2015 through fiscal year 2044. That breaks down to about $14 billion for upgrades to command-and-control systems and launch centers, and $48.5 billion for new missiles, the report says.

U.S. Preparing To Remove Tactical Nuclear Weapons From Europe

Photo: Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

US 'In Talks To Remove Tactical Nuclear Weapons From Europe' -- The Telegraph

The United States is in talks with Nato to remove US tactical nuclear weapons from Europe, in a push toward a nuclear-weapons-free world and to cut costs, according to reports.

Washington is talking with other Nato member nations about the withdrawal of all shorter-range, tactical nuclear weapons that have been deployed in Europe since the Cold War era, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun said.

In-depth discussions will take place in coming months and the talks should conclude by the time Chicago hosts a Nato summit next May, the liberal daily said, citing a senior US official tasked with nuclear disarmament policies.

The talks are being held as part of NATO'S Defense and Deterrence Posture Review, said the report filed from the paper's Washington bureau.

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Update #1: NATO, U.S. Said Discussing Removal of Tactical Nukes From Europe -- Global Security Newswire
Update #2: US may pull tactical nukes out of Europe: report -- AFP

My Comment: The Cold War is over, so the point of having such weapon systems (over there) no longer makes any sense. The savings in costs will just be a bonus.

Sounding The Nuclear Alarm -- A Commentary

Russian SS-25 and American Peacekeeper strategic nuclear missiles
(Photo from Aerospaceweb)

From The Wall Street Journal:

The U.S. will not have a credible arsenal unless Washington acts soon to replace aging warheads.

Gen. Kevin Chilton, a former command astronaut, is no stranger to cutting-edge technology. But these days the man responsible for the command and control of U.S. nuclear forces finds himself talking more often about '57 Chevys than the space shuttle. On a recent visit to The Wall Street Journal he wheeled out the Chevy analogy to describe the nation's aging arsenal of nuclear warheads. The message he's carrying to the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, the press and anyone else who will listen is: Modernize, modernize, modernize.

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My Comment: Modernizing America's nuclear forces will run into the tens of billions of dollars (if not more) over the next few years. Budget deficits, financial crisis, and a new U.S. President who wants to eliminate most of these weapon systems .... this does not bode well for what will need to be done in the next year or two.

Security Measures To Protect America's Nuclear Missile Silos

Minuteman III nuclear weapon Silo (Photo from UK Expert)

Wannabe Bond Villains' Last Line Of Defense
-- The Danger Room

When security in your underground base has been breached and you are about to be overrun, what's the last line of defense? It's a device called a Fast-Rising B Plug. And wannabe Bond villains inspired by the new movie should take note.

We know about the Plug because Boeing has just received a $10 million contract to improve security at the 450 Minuteman III missile installations operated by the U.S. Air Force. According to their press release:

"The mission of the Fast Rising B-Plug Kit program is to design, qualify and field a robust security system. The system provides an active delay device that allows personnel in the Minuteman Launch Facility to rapidly secure the facility from any of multiple locations. "

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My Comment: There is never "too much security" when it comes to nuclear missiles.