The scale of the silo conversion effort is something the Air Force nuclear complex hasn’t seen in “over 50 or 60 years,” Lt. Gen. James Dawkins, deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, said today.
By Theresa HitchensThe name Sentinel conjures the idea of a soldier tirelessly keeping watch — not unlike the poor souls pulling a marathon 72-hour alert during the a blizzard at Minot Air Force Base, N.D.
By Valerie InsinnaNo political message was intended by the launch. Testing “is not used as a ‘signaling mechanism’ politically,” Col. Omar Colbert, Air Force Global Strike Command’s 576th Flight Test Squadron commander, stressed on Monday.
By Theresa HitchensAs anxiety rises over North Korean rocket tests, the Missile Defense Agency needs better radar to tell threats apart. Which of those distant blips is an InterContinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) warhead capable of hitting the US? Which is a burnt-out rocket boaster coasting harmlessly through space? Which is a decoy warhead designed to make MDA…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Over the next 25 years or so, the United States plans to recapitalize its triad of submarines, bombers, and missiles that deliver strategic nuclear weapons, building new versions of these weapons to extend a 50-year-old force structure for another half century. Yet today’s strategic environment is not that of the 1960s, and tomorrow’s may differ…
By Bob Butterworth