Northrop Grumman successfully conducted Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile Shroud Fly-off Test earlier in 2024.
Pentagon has allowed US Air Force’s Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program to continue despite an increase of approximately 81 percent in the project’s estimated cost.
According to the review of the program, which is meant to produce a nuclear ICBM replacement for the aging Minuteman III missiles, the project cost has now reached roughly $141 billion.
However, the Air Force has been asked to restructure the project and ensure there are no further cost overruns.
The details about the go-ahead despite the cost overruns of the Sentinel program were shared by Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante.
A Breaking Defense report quotes LaPlante as saying that the Sentinel program has been asked to continue as there are no viable alternatives in place which would be cheaper than it.
Moreover, the restructuring will result in a delay of several years and a new timetable is going to emerge at the end of the exercise for the acquisition.
“The program will be restructured to address the root causes of the breach and ensure an appropriate management structure is in place to control costs,” the Breaking Defense report quotes LaPLante saying before the announcement by the Pentagon.
A breach occurs when the cost of a program grows by 25%, and the program must be terminated unless the office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment can prove that the program meets the criteria to continue, according to the norms in place.
The Sentinel program triggered the Nunn-McCurdy breach earlier this year and the Pentagon had been informed about it.
According to the Pentagon officials, the go-ahead has been given considering that this is the first major upgrade to the ground-based component of US’ nuclear triad in over 60 years.
The growing threat posed by adversaries like Russia and China has been also taken into account in taking the critical decision.
Earlier in February 2024, Northrop Grumman had announced the successful completion of tests which checked several crucial elements of the Sentinel ICBM. The tests had been conducted at the company’s Strategic Missile Test and Production Complex in Promontory, Utah.
In January this year the company had also successfully completed a live, static-fire test of a Sentinel ICBM stage-two solid rocket motor.
The LGM-35 “Sentinel,” also called the “Ground Based Strategic Deterrent” (GBSD), is a planned U.S. ICBM. The replacement was scheduled to begin from 2029 onwards.
In 2020, the Department of the Air Force awarded a $13.3 billion sole-source contract for developing the LGM-35 to Northrop Grumman after Boeing withdrew its proposal.
The Pentagon anticipates that the modern Sentinel will effectively counter the threats posed by China’s and Russia’s rapidly evolving missile systems.
The designers of the new system are taking an approach that will make it easier to incorporate new technologies in the future and ensure that it remains in service until 2075.
Several critics have stated that the program is “not necessary” and can be easily scrapped.
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Abhishek Bhardwaj Abhishek brings a wealth of experience in covering diverse stories across different beats. Having contributed to renowned wire agencies and Indian media outlets like ANI and NDTV, he is keenly interested in Tech, Business and Defense coverage.
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