Lawmakers are urging the Department of Defense (DoD) to prevent delaying the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) as a replacement for the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) recently joined a group of legislators in forwarding correspondence to DoD discouraging delays in the missile systems replacement process at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana.
“We write to emphasize the importance of delivering the Air Force’s long-overdue Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) replacement effort,” Daines joined colleagues in noting via the letter. “To deter a nuclear attack on the United States and its allies in today’s multipolar nuclear security environment, comprehensive U.S. nuclear modernization to include each leg of the triad is necessary.”
Highlighting the continued nuclear ambitions of the nation’s adversaries, the lawmakers emphasized regardless of whether there are any modifications to the GBSD acquisition approach, the program must be delivered on time to ensure the nation’s nuclear forces remain a credible deterrent.
The legislators maintain adversaries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea continue to pursue their nuclear ambitions, whether to advance more developed capabilities or obtain their first nuclear weapon.
Modernizing the ground-based leg of the triad is necessary for 21st-century nuclear deterrence, the lawmakers concluded.