NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Air Force will redirect $500 million over the next several years for nuclear force upgrades, according to the service’s top civilian.

Air Force Secretary Deborah James said Monday these funds will go toward nuclear facilities, sustainment, bomber and ICBM operations, support, launch control center refurbishment, updated nuclear defender equipment and uniforms and other force improvement initiatives. James also said Air Force officers and enlisted force handling ICBMs would receive a $300 per month stipend boost, effective Oct. 1.

The Air Force test launches a Minuteman III ICBM. Photo: Air Force.
The Air Force test launches a Minuteman III ICBM. Photo: Air Force.

“There’s no question in my mind that our nuclear mission is first and foremost,” James told an audience here at the 2014 Air and Space Conference hosted by the Air Force Association.

The Air Force has been reeling from a widespread cheating scandal and low morale among its nuclear force, called missileers. Earlier this year, it fired 92 missileers for cheating on a proficiency exam. The investment is part of an overall Air Force effort to make a career handling ICBMs more attractive.

The Air Force hosts Minuteman III ICBMs at bases in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota.

James also said the Air Force would invest in space situational awareness (SSA) to assist in nuclear deterrence and understand what is taking place in space. The Air Force recently awarded a $915 million contract to

Lockheed Martin [LMT] for the first of potentially two sites for Space Fence, an S-band, phased-array radar designed to help the service identify and track space debris that could damage satellites or other space assets (Defense Daily, Sept. 9).

The Air Force also has the Joint Space Operations Center’s (JSpOC) Mission System (JMS) program that provides notifications to governments and commercial satellite owner/operators of potentially hazardous conjuctions, or collisions, between orbiting objects (Defense Daily; May 14, 2013).