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Nuclear Modernization

Initial Operational Capability By End of Fiscal 2033 for Sentinel, SASC Says

Frank Wolfe

Wednesday, July 16th, 2025

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Initial Operational Capability By End of Fiscal 2033 for Sentinel, SASC Says

Pictured is an airman with the 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron climbing a transport erector on March 3 at Malmstrom AFB, Mont. (U.S. Air Force Photo)

House and Senate defense authorizers would prohibit a reduction in U.S. ICBMs below 400, and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) sets a date of fiscal 2033 for initial operational capability (IOC) for the LGM-35A Sentinel future ICBM by Northrop Grumman [NOC]. That IOC is more than four years past what the U.S. Air Force had aimed for--May 2029--before Sentinel's critical Nunn-McCurdy cost breach in January last year. "Not later than September 30, 2033, and subject to the availability of…

Congress

Senior GOP HASC Members Wittman, Turner Ousted Amid Dems’ Blue Wave

Two senior Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee, including a potential frontrunner for the panel’s top GOP role, have officially lost their reelection bids. Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and […]

Congress

Dems’ Big Night Set To Reshape Top Defense Committee Spots, As Key GOP’ers Knocked Off

Democrats’ sweeping victories in Tuesday’s midterms, taking back control of the House and Senate, are set to reshape key spots atop defense committees, to include House Armed Services panels and […]

Congress

Key Defense Committee Members Face Tight Midterm Races, Including HASC GOP’ers In Virginia

As the mid-term elections near with polls showing an increasing likelihood of a switch in majority control in the House and potentially the Senate, three Virginia Republicans on the House […]

‘Theoretical Potential’ to Achieve 1,509 Combat-Coded Fighters by 2035, USAF Says

In the latest U.S. Air Force fighter force structure report submitted to Congress, the service speaks of a “theoretical potential” to achieve a goal of 1,509 combat-coded fighters in the […]