Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) Capabilities

reportActive / Technical Report | Accesssion Number: AD1125425 | Open PDF

Abstract:

On September 8, 2020, the United States Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation a $13.3 billion contract to develop a new nuclear missile, the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), intended to replace the 50-year old Minuteman III (MMIII) Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). (For details on the U.S. nuclear force structure, see CRS Report FL33640, U.S Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues, by Amy Woolf.) MMIII has been deployed as the ground-based leg of the U.S. nuclear forces structure (the Triad) since 1970. The Air Force expects GBSD to begin replacing MMIII in 2029. As the missile moves toward production and deployment, issues for Congress include whether to authorize and appropriate funding for this program and, if so, to provide oversight as the program progresses and is implemented.

Author(s):
Johnson, Benji
Author Organization(s):
Congressional Research SVC
Funding Organization(s):
Publication Date:
2020 Nov 10
Pagination:
0

Security Markings

RECORD

Collection: TRECMS
Subject Terms
Modernization Areas:
Space
Communities of Interest:
Weapons Technologies
Descriptor(s):
air force, intercontinental ballistic missiles, ballistic missiles, composite materials, ground based, united states, department of defense, materials, weapon systems, weapons, congress, computer programs, costs, force structure, life cycles, maintenance, rockets
Keyword(s):
gbsd(ground based strategic deterrent), minuteman III
Subject Categories:
Guided Missle Technology
Update Date:
2021 Apr 05