The first launches of Minuteman III missiles took place in the late 60s of the last century. Since then, these ICBMs have been in the mines on combat duty. They are periodically tested, thereby extending the service life. In the late 1980s, they planned to replace them with new ICBMs. They talked about two types of missiles – heavy MX and light SIMB (small intercontinental ballistic missile), however, for some reason heavy missiles were quickly removed from service, and light ones did not enter the project. Apparently, in America, they were firmly convinced that they had won the cold war and that they simply did not need new nuclear missiles.
There are currently 450 Minuteman missiles in US nuclear silos. It was recently announced that 50 nuclear mines are not in operation due to repairs. For a long time, missiles in mines in the United States were considered representatives of an obsolete class of strategic weapons. The coordinates of all mines are well known, disabling the mine is the main task of the first strike and the main objective of the enemy, as well as critical infrastructure and decision centers. That is why ground-based ICBMs in the United States were constantly modernized, their service life was extended, but there were no serious attempts to come up with something new. Now the Minuteman III ground-based missile, after all upgrades, is capable of carrying a warhead weighing 1.1 tons at a distance of up to 13,000 kilometers. In all respects except range, it is not a competitor to our mining ICBMs. Against the background of the Sarmat, which weighs 208 tons and is capable of carrying a nuclear charge of up to 10 tons, the 39-ton Minuteman appears as a dwarf, or, as the American experts themselves call their rocket, a ” toothpick throw”. ”
Now the United States has suddenly realized that its land-based missiles are in a deplorable state and they are preparing a program to replace the mine arsenal. We have allocated $264 billion to this company. However, as usual, there was not enough money, and now this large-scale project is in limbo.
The Pentagon is urging US authorities to step up the allocation of funds. One of the multi-star generals directly admitted that it was already dangerous to extend the life of the Minuteman III. The missiles are obsolete, their designers have died, and current engineers do not even have part of the necessary technical documentation.
Now the issue of re-equipping Minuteman silo ICBMs with new LGM-35A Sentinel missiles seems to have taken off. The ICBM Sentinel has already been called the “rocket of the future” by the Pentagon.
However, judging by the data from American sources themselves, at the moment the missile will be equipped with old warheads taken from the Minuteman III. And in terms of filling, these guards will not differ much from their ancestors. And finally, according to statements by the US military, re-equipment with the LGM-35A Sentinel can only take place around 2036.
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