{"id":1906663,"date":"2023-03-29T13:56:19","date_gmt":"2023-03-29T17:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supply-chain-disruption-design-delays-cost-overruns-cloud-us-nuclear-triad-upgrades-pentagon-officials\/"},"modified":"2023-03-29T14:00:11","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T18:00:11","slug":"supply-chain-disruption-design-delays-cost-overruns-cloud-us-nuclear-triad-upgrades-pentagon-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supply-chain-disruption-design-delays-cost-overruns-cloud-us-nuclear-triad-upgrades-pentagon-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Supply Chain Disruption, Design Delays, Cost Overruns Cloud US \u2018Nuclear Triad\u2019 Upgrades: Pentagon Officials"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsupply-chain-disruption-design-delays-cost-overruns-cloud-us-nuclear-triad-upgrades-pentagon-officials%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1906663&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s $863 billion Fiscal Year 2024 [FY24] defense budget request includes $23.8 billion for the United States Department of Energy [DOE] to produce nuclear weapons and manage the nation\u2019s strategic stockpile and $37.7 billion for the Pentagon to operate its \u201cnuclear enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That \u201cnuclear enterprise\u201d is America\u2019s land-air-sea \u201ctriad\u201d strategic force posture\u2014intercontinental ballistic missiles [ICBMs], strategic bombers, and \u201cboomer\u201d submarines armed with submarine-launched ballistic missile [SLBMs].<\/p>\n<p>All three \u201ctriad\u201d legs are being upgraded in a \u201conce-in-a-generation modernization\u201d with the Sentinel ICBM replacing the Minute Man III, the December 2022 introduction of the B-21 strategic bomber, and a 12-ship fleet of new Columbia-class SLBM \u201cboomers\u201d to succeed the Navy\u2019s 14-ship Ohio-Class sub force by 2030.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1977415\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript> A U.S. Air Force Minute Man III\u00a0intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launch. (U.S. Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It all looks good on paper, but supply chain issues, design delays, and cost overruns are disrupting transitions to the new platforms as the United States and its allies face increasing nuclear threats from Vladimir Putin\u2019s Russia, the Peoples\u2019 Republic of China [PRC], North Korea, and, potentially, soon Iran, with mounting fears of proliferation to non-nation entities fostering a wildcard of uncertainty.<\/p>\n<p>During a March 28 hearing before the House Armed Services Committee\u2019s Strategic Forces Subcommittee, three assistant secretaries of defense and Air Force and Navy strategic force commanders raised alarm about delays that could require the triad to rely on extending the operational lifespans of obsolete weapon systems with limited stockpiles from now-defunct supply lines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSupply chains responsible for legacy system parts are closing, and require innovation to fill those gaps,\u201d Air Force Global Strike Command Commander Gen. Thomas Bussiere said in his testimony, noting those transitional \u201cgaps\u201d mean the United States \u201cmust maintain our legacy weapon systems at full operational capability until the future force is ready to take on the operational requirement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReplacement programs are ongoing, but there is little or no margin between the end of [the] useful life of existing programs and the fielding of their replacements,\u201d Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs Deborah Rosenblum testified.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>New Ballistic Missile: The Sentinel<\/h2>\n<p>The Biden administration\u2019s FY24 budget request includes $4.3 billion for the Sentinel ICBM to replace the Minuteman III missiles, which are \u201caging out and have been life-extended multiple times since its initial deployment in 1970\u2014well past its original 10-year design life,\u201d Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Dr. John Plumb testified.<\/p>\n<p>About 400 of the 50-year-old ICMBs are stationed in silos on 20th Air Force installations across North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, and Colorado. The Sentinels, currently in the \u201cengineering and development phase,\u201d are scheduled to be deployed from 2029 through 2036 and be operational through 2075.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s some concern the new system may not be operational until the early 2030s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe program is executing an aggressive schedule, and the Air Force is actively working to mitigate risks in delivering this capability to meet [the nation\u2019s strategic] requirements,\u201d Rosenblum said.<\/p>\n<p>The missile system, which will carry a new W87-1 warhead, features \u201cincreased capability, enhanced security, improved reliability, and lower lifecycle sustainment costs compared to the Minute Man III,\u201d Plumb said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis will ensure Sentinel has the adaptability and flexibility to address a changing threat environment, [and] contribute to the credibility of the overall nuclear triad\u201d through the 2070s.<\/p>\n<p>Bussiere praised the \u201cingenuity\u201d of Air Force missileers in maintaining ICBMs older than some of their fathers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe continue to provide critical sustainment programs to maintain our MMIII\u2019s lethality through the end of life, and our forces remain ready to transition to on-time fielding of Sentinel, our new ground-based strategic deterrent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The 50-year-old Minute Man ICBM is housed in silos that are decades older, he said.<\/p>\n<p>More than \u201c150 ICBM launch vehicles and operational ground equipment components require risk mitigation to remain operationally viable until their end-of-life,\u201d Bussiere said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe missile wings have logged over 2.4 million maintenance hours over the last five years, which is a 30 percent increase over the previous five years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, he said, 20th Air Force bases carry a maintenance backlog of 21,000 work orders \u201cand models predict a 25-percent increase\u201d in maintenance demands in the coming years.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4318571\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript> The B-52 bomber has been the \u201cworkhorse\u201d of the Air Force\u2019s long-range strike fleet and will remain so until replaced by the B-21 Raider gradually in the coming decades. (Chung Sung-Jun\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>New Bomber: B-21 Raider<\/h2>\n<p>The Pentagon\u2019s budget request includes $5.3 billion for the new B-21 Raider bomber and $978.2 million for a new \u2018Long-Range Standoff\u2019 [LRSO] cruise missile, equipped with a W80-4 warhead, and modernization upgrades to the B-52 bomber.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe B-21 will be a key component of the United States\u2019 conventional and nuclear-capable deep-strike capabilities, providing a visible and flexible deterrent capability that can also penetrate and survive highly contested threat environments around the world,\u201d Plumb said, noting only $2.3 billion of the $5.3 billion is for the B-21, \u201callowing the program to transition to low-rate initial production.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The LRSO will replace a cruise missile in use since 1982 and is \u201cnecessary to maintain the viability of the B-52 fleet,\u201d he said, adding they will also be fitted on B-21s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese investments in the modernization of dual-capable F-35 aircraft and B61 gravity bombs are critical to ensuring that the United States can contribute to the security of its NATO allies with modernized nuclear deterrent capabilities,\u201d Plumb said.<\/p>\n<p>Rosenblum said the B-21 will replace the B-2 and B-1 bombers. The B-1 is for conventional use only. The B-21 will also have the conventional capacity in addition to its strategic mission, she said.<\/p>\n<p>The B-21, built by Northrop Grumman, is expected to make its first flight in 2023 and enter service by 2027. Each one is projected to cost nearly $700 million. The Air Force states it will order at least 100 in the coming years.<\/p>\n<p>Bussiere said the B-21 Raider \u201cwill offer \u2026 unparalleled capabilities, but until it is mission capable, we must be postured to deter and, if necessary, fight with our current force of B-1, B-2, and B-52 bomber aircraft\u201d with the B-52 continuing to be \u201cthe workhorse\u201d of the Air Force\u2019s long-range strike bomber fleet for at least the next decade.<\/p>\n<p>The B-52 faces \u201csustainment challenges. Parts obsolescence increases aircraft downtime and leads to higher cannibalization rates of parts from other aircraft,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis means to meet mission requirements, aircrews are flying less training sorties. A lack of training sorties leads to a lack of current aircrew to fly mission lines and an inability to absorb the number of crews required.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3226969\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript> A Trident Ii, or D-5 missile, is launched from an Ohio-class submarine. (Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>New Boomer: Columbia Class<\/h2>\n<p>The FY24 budget request includes $6.2 billion for a second Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine [SSBN], which will replace the current fleet of Ohio-class SSBNs \u201cas the most survivable leg of the nuclear triad,\u201d Plumb said.<\/p>\n<p>The first of the new \u201cboomer\u201d submarines\u2014USS District of Columbia\u2014began construction in October 2020 and is scheduled to enter service in 2031, the first of 12 Columbia Class submarines that will replace the fleet of 14 Ohio Class SSBNs.<\/p>\n<p>Beginning in 2027, the Navy hopes to order a new $6.2 billion Columbia a year until the 12-ship fleet is filled out. The 560-foot missile boats have 16 tubes and will be manned by a 155-member crew.<\/p>\n<p>Plumb called the Columbia Class submarines the DOD\u2019s \u201ctop acquisition priority,\u201d saying the \u201cboomers\u201d will \u201censure the effectiveness and availability of the sea leg of the triad through the 2080s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The budget request also includes $456.6 million for Trident II SLBM \u201clife extension\u201d to make them viable through the 2080s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to fully fund the Columbia Class SSBN program to deliver a minimum of 12 boats on time, as the Ohio Class SSBNs begin to retire,\u201d Rosenbaum said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe also need to continue to prioritize near-term investments in the submarine industrial base.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s $863 billion Fiscal Year 2024 [FY24] defense budget request includes $23.8 billion for the United States Department of Energy [DOE] to produce nuclear weapons and manage the nation\u2019s strategic stockpile and $37.7 billion for the Pentagon to operate its \u201cnuclear enterprise.\u201d That \u201cnuclear enterprise\u201d is America\u2019s land-air-sea \u201ctriad\u201d strategic force posture\u2014intercontinental ballistic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":509,"featured_media":1906664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[14261,10465,5975,9419,15481,21304,4639,3638,23035,3761,11410,22239,9857],"class_list":["post-1906663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times","tag-chain","tag-cloud","tag-cost","tag-delays","tag-design","tag-disruption","tag-nuclear","tag-officials","tag-overruns","tag-pentagon","tag-supply","tag-triad","tag-upgrades"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/509"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1906663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1906664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1906663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1906663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1906663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}