google8c874a0b684bfa11.html

US nuclear missile program to be years behind schedule, over budget, Pentagon says

 A fighter jet is launched from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower during a strike against what the U.S. military describe as Houthi military targets in Yemen, February 3, 2024 (photo credit: US NAVY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

A Pentagon program to replace some of its aging intercontinental ballistic missiles will be years behind schedule and 81% over budget, the US military said on Monday.

The project, now named the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program, is designed and managed by Northrop Grumman, and aims to replace aging Minuteman III missiles.

The program is estimated to cost $140.9 billion, up 81% from a cost estimate in September 2020.

“We are fully aware of the costs, but we are also aware of the risks of not modernizing our nuclear forces and not addressing the very real threats we confront,” US Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante told reporters. LaPlante certified that the program should continue despite the cost overrun.

The path to US security

“There are reasons for the cost growth, but there are no excuses. We are already working to address the root causes, and more importantly, we believe we are on the right path to defend our nation,” LaPlante added.

 The guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) comes alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) to conduct a replenishment at sea (RAS) in the Atlantic Ocean.  (credit: Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Andrew Geraci/US Navy)Enlrage image
The guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) comes alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) to conduct a replenishment at sea (RAS) in the Atlantic Ocean. (credit: Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Andrew Geraci/US Navy)

The majority of the cost growth is associated with launch facilities, launch centers and other processes involved with converting from Minuteman III to Sentinel. Reuters has reported that the “unmodified program” cost could be as much as $160 billion.

The new Sentinel cost estimate eclipses an increase to “at least” $131 billion that the Air Force made public in January.That triggered the Nunn-McCurdy Act, a 1982 law that requires the Pentagon to formally justify to Congress the importance of a program whose unit acquisition costs have risen more than 25% above a baseline.

Read More

Verified by MonsterInsights