U.S. Air Force asks industry for proposals to replace nuclear missiles

Reuters ^ | July 29, 2016 | David Alexander

[2ndDivisionVet]

The U.S. Air Force asked industry on Friday for proposals to replace the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile and the nuclear cruise missile as the military moves ahead with a costly modernization of its aging atomic weapons systems.

The Air Force said in a statement it expected to award up to two contracts for a new ICBM weapons system, or ground-based strategic deterrent, sometime next summer or fall. It also expected to award up to two contracts in the same time frame for a new nuclear cruise missile, or long-range standoff weapon.

Modernization of the U.S. nuclear force is expected to cost more than $350 billion over the next decade as the United States works to replace its aging systems, including bombs, nuclear bombers, missiles and submarines. Some analysts estimate the cost of modernization at $1 trillion over 30 years.

The new ICBM system would be a follow-on to the Minuteman missile....

[equaviator]

I just saw a Thiokol Chemical Corp. film (USAF) released in 1959 with NBC News anchor Chet Huntley as host. This film was produced for the USAF and was to inform airmen of the engine/fuel technologies and launch types of the Minuteman missile and its systems. That was damned near 60 years ago!

[outofsalt]

They will probably have to get the EPA to approve them.

[noiseman]

We never should have given up the MX missile ("Peacekeeper"). They were dismantled under the START treaty, even though they were relatively new and far more capable than the Minuteman. Each carried 10 warheads compared to the Minuteman's max, I believe, of 3.

I helped build them when I worked for Martin Marietta in the early '80s. A tremendous amount of work went into creating that system (as well as a ton of money), then we just gave it away only a few years into its lifespan. It was really hard to watch them being destroyed. And now, here we are looking to spend billions more to replicate what we already had.

[RayChuang88]

I think what may happen is that we may see the old AGM-131 SRAM II missile dusted off, updated and brought into service. Equipped with an updated W80 warhead with a variable yield between 20 and 200 KT and with a range of around 60 to 90 miles, the AGM-131 would replace the B61 gravity-dropped bomb. Indeed, the AGM-131 missile would actually be lighter than the B61 bomb itself.

[wastoute]

How about a long range SUPER slingshot. We could call it the 0bama.

[bert]

I t is noteworthy that the action is taken at the end of the Obama debacle

[moovova]

“I t is noteworthy that the action is taken at the end of the Obama debacle”

Warhawk Hillary needs an updated nuclear arsenal to supplement her Reign of Terror.

God help us.

[Hugh the Scot]

I’m not particularly nostalgic for the Peacekeeper system. Once deployed, they had issues of their own.

Say what you want about minuteman III, but they’ve stood alert reliably for a minute.

[silverleaf]

So who gets the bid
Russia or China?

[silverleaf]

Don’t bet the farm
An Obama goal has been the complete nuclear disarmament of the U.S.
Casting doubt on the viability of the existing force is just another means to phase it out
Replacing it? Not so urgent

[CopperTop]

"..How about a long range SUPER slingshot. We could call it the 0bama.."

Too late. That name's in use already for a different kind of bombing system.
I took an "obama" this morning after breakfast.

But I'd give up rights to it if he'd be the first "missle" used to test your proposal. d;^)

[Tonytitan]

This is slight-of-hand. The Air Force desperately want to offload the ICBM deterrent onto the Navy. They want to spend all their dollars on space weapons. Space-based satellite defense. Space-based kinetic weapons whose launch/release is undetectable.

My read is that some rocket manufacturer is trying to drum up business for his company. Besides, nukes are so 20th century.

[Laser_Ray]

They’re also of dubious use against stateless terrorists who use suicide runs as their FIRST tactic and think they go to a heaven full of f*ck toys if they die in battle. MAD doesn’t work that well against a horde of illiterate savages who think they win if one of them survives on the whole planet and all of you die.

[Vinnie]

How many new ICBMs have the Russians built in the last 10 yrs.
Two? Three?
Several variants of the Topol. One, SS-27, as late as 2014 designed to be impervious to US defenses.

And we just sit with our hands over our ears going “la-la-la-la”

[Tonytitan]

Just ran across this:

Space Fence

[BwanaNdege]

They’re also of dubious use against stateless terrorists who use suicide runs as their FIRST tactic...

[GladesGuru]

Stuxnetsky - payback for Russian sale of weapons to Muslims?

[Rockitz]

We’ve built the MX/Peacekeeper since then, but that was in the 1980s and was traded away in talks with the Soviets. A new missile or two is long overdue.

[Mariner]

An updated MX is a good replacement for the Minuteman III.

There's only so much tech that is required for a good ballistic missile. By 1985 all that tech had been developed and proven.

Solid fuel, throw-weight. MIRV. Accuracy. Absolute reliability.

What more do you need?

Instead the Air Force will buy something fancy that costs 4x what it should.