According to a newly released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the United States Air Force’s transition to the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is facing a severe delay—which might require keeping the aging LGM-30 Minuteman III missile in service until at least 2050.

Development of the Minuteman III began in the 1960s, and it has been in service since the early 1970s, potentially giving the nuclear missile an 80-year service life.

The missile was constructed with a planned service life of 10 years, but “a series of life-extension programs have kept the Minuteman III viable as fielded until 2030, making the MMIII the oldest deployed strategic ballistic missile in the world,” the United States Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center explained when the program reached its 50th anniversary.

Prior to the report’s publication, the missile had been slated for retirement by 2036. If the report’s conclusions are accurate, it will serve at least 14 years longer than currently planned—raising concerns about its continued reliability.

“The system includes more than 600 facilities, including 450 missile silos, across five states,” the GAO noted in its report, “ICBM Modernization: Air Force Actions Needed to........

© The National Interest