USAF requests industry proposals for next-gen ICBM

[Zarvan]

The Boeing Minuteman III ICBM was first deployed in the 1970s. The USAF has issued a long-delayed RfP for its replacement. Source: USAF
Key Points

• The USAF has released an RfP for a programme to replace its nuclear-armed ICBMs
• The Pentagon plans to award up to two 36-month technology maturation and risk reduction contracts by the end of FY 2017, and to field a new system in the late 2020s

The US Air Force (USAF) has released a request for proposals (RfP) for an effort to replace its nuclear-armed LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the service announced on 29 July.

Air force officials plan to award up to two 36-month technology maturation and risk reduction contracts by the end of fiscal year 2017 (FY 2017) and to field a new system in the late 2020s, according to a statement. Proposals are due in October.

The RfP and its supporting documents are classified 'secret'.

GBSD, previously known as Minuteman IV, is expected to leave much of the legacy infrastructure and even some associated components in place, officials have said. According to a request for information (RfI) released in January 2015, the USAF wants a contractor to replace "the entire flight system, [retain] the silo-basing mode while recapitalising the infrastructure, and [implement] a new Weapon System Command and Control [WSC2] system".

The government is also considering renovations for the ICBM's Launch Control Centers (LCC) and Launch Facilities (LF) as well as "options to reduce/streamline the current LCC/LF architecture". The RfI said modifications and replacements "must be made with a focus towards minimising associated maintenance/logistics impacts" and that the existing Mk12A and Mk21 re-entry vehicles (RV) in the single and multiple RV configurations would be retained.

A draft version of the RfP was being reviewed by the three potential prime contractors - Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman - as of May 2016 while the programme office continued developing evaluation criteria, officials have said.

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