Firing ICBMs From Lakes, Tunnels Considered Before Air Force Picked New Missile
An Air Force document shows multiple types of missiles, as well as firing them from places other than silos, were all on the table.
BY
JOSEPH TREVITHICK
JUL 14, 2022 12:59 PM
JOSEPH TREVITHICK
Arecently released document shows the U.S. Air Force assessed various alternatives to fielding its future LGM-35A Sentinel nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, as well as the possibility of deploying any such future weapon outside of traditional silos, including multiple concepts previously explored decades ago. Buying a land-based version of the U.S. Navy's Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missile, a new smaller missile with intercontinental range, or a design based at least in part on an existing commercial space launch rocket, as well as basing them in tunnels or at the bottom of deep lakes were all concepts that were examined.
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) think tank was among the first to spot the new details about the Air Force's ICBM-replacement decision-making processes in a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) regarding the future deployment of the LGM-35A and the decommissioning and disposal of the service's existing arsenal of LGM-30G Minuteman IIIs that was released on July 1. Many of the concepts described within evoke memories of proposed ideas from the last time the Air Force worked to acquire a new ICBM in the 1970s and 1980s. Those past initiatives ultimately resulted in the acquisition of the silo-based LGM-118A Peacekeeper, the last of which were removed from the Air Force's inventory in 2005 as a result of arms control agreements between the United States and Russia.
The Air Force formally selected a team led by Northrop Grumman as the winner of its Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program in 2020, with Boeing having dropped out of the running the year before. In April, the service announced that the new missiles, which are set to replace the 400 LGM-30Gs on a one-for-one basis, would be designated LGM-35A Sentinels. ICBM silos and associated command and control facilities spread across five states, as well as other related infrastructure, is also set to be modernized as part of the fielding of the new LGM-35As. The estimated total cost to acquire the missiles and upgrade the relevant facilities has been pegged publicly at around $100 billion. The cost estimate for the entire program, to include operations and maintenance costs into the 2070s when these weapons are expected to reach the end of their service lives, has been set at $264 billion in the past.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/air-force-considered-firing-icbms-from-lakes-tunnels-before-picking-new-missile
