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Pentagon estimates cost of new nuclear missiles at $95.8B

This image taken with a slow shutter speed on Oct. 2, 2019, and provided by the U.S. Air Force shows an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile test launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. (Staff Sgt. J.T. Armstrong/U.S. Air Force via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has raised to $95.8 billion the estimated cost of fielding a new fleet of land-based nuclear missiles to replace the Minuteman 3 arsenal that has operated continuously for 50 years, officials said Monday.

The estimate is up about $10 billion from four years ago.

The
weapons, known as intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, are
intended as part of a near-total replacement of the American nuclear
force over the next few decades at a total cost of more than $1.2
trillion.

Some, including former Defense Secretary William J.
Perry, argue that U.S. national security can be ensured without ICBMs,
but the Pentagon says they are vital to deterring war. The Trump
administration affirmed its commitment to fielding a new generation of
ICBMs in a 2018 review of nuclear policy.

“The ICBM force is
highly survivable against any but a large-scale nuclear attack,” the
review concluded. “To destroy U.S. ICBMs on the ground, an adversary
would need to launch a precisely coordinated attack with hundreds of
high-yield and accurate warheads. This is an insurmountable challenge
for any potential adversary today, with the exception of Russia.”

The
current fleet of 400 deployed Minuteman missiles, each armed with a
single nuclear warhead, is based in underground silos in Montana, North
Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. Their numbers are governed in
part by the 2010 New START treaty with Russia, which is due to expire in
February. Russia wants to extend the treaty but the Trump
administration has set conditions not accepted by Moscow.

The U.S.
also is building a new fleet of ballistic missile submarines to replace
the current Ohio-class strategic subs; a new long-range nuclear-capable
bomber to replace the B-2 stealth aircraft; a next-generation
air-launched nuclear cruise missile; and a new nuclear command and
communications system. It also is working on updated warheads, including
an ICBM warhead replacement for an estimated $14.8 billion.

The
nuclear modernization program was launched by the Obama administration
and has been continued by President Donald Trump. Democrat Joe Biden has
said that if elected in November he would consider finding ways to
scale back the program.

The Pentagon’s $95.8 billion cost estimate
for the Minuteman replacement was first reported by Bloomberg News. The
Pentagon provided the estimate to Congress last month but had, until
Monday, refused to release it publicly.

Last month the Air Force
awarded Northrop Grumman a $13.3 billion contract for engineering and
manufacturing development of the new missiles. The total “lifecycle”
cost, including operating and sustaining the missiles over their
expected lifetime into the 2070s, is set at $263.9 billion.