The Minuteman III intercontental ballistic missile is set to become one of the oldest weapons in the Air Force inventory, with plans now to extend its life out beyond 2040. In a profile of the land-based nuclear deterrent, Air Force Magazine describes the new life support strategy for the Minuteman III:
The US wants to preserve a powerful, reliable, land-based strategic nuclear deterrent force beyond the year 2020. In a shift, Air Force Space Command has decided that this task won’t require development of an all new “Minuteman IV” missile, as was once thought.
Rather, officials explain, the Air Force can make do by modernizing today’s Minuteman III ICBMs—again—and keeping them in service until 2040.
Space Command leaders recently came to the conclusion that this plan would constitute the most efficient way to maintain an effective, silo-based ICBM force for the long term, but it is not without controversy.
**
