By Lindsay Potter
The Navy is currently constructing a new nuclear weapons storage facility at its Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Called a Weapons Generation Facility (WGF), the $243.1 million, 28-acre project includes a 300,000 square foot WGF. By 2030, the WGF will replace current air-launched cruise missiles with the nuclear Long-Range Standoff cruise missile to be delivered by B-52H Stratofortress heavy bombers housed at the base.
In other nuclear spending news, the Minot Air Force Base will be given $850 million in upgrades to nuclear weapons and related infrastructure. Included in the Pentagon’s 12-year plan to renovate the nuclear triad are: an order for 100 Northrop Grumman B-21 Raiders to the tune of $700 million per plane; Columbia-class submarines at $9 billion per vessel; and plans to replace the Minuteman III ICBMs with the new Sentinel, a project already 37% over budget. As a part of this upgrade, Minot will receive new launching vehicles and 939 miles of new utility corridors. Construction was expected to begin in 2027 but is now delayed.
To cap it all off, in March, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee submitted a letter requesting the Army brief lawmakers on plans to build “advanced nuclear technologies” — a term often used to refer to Small Modular Nuclear Reactors — on military bases.
— Bismarck Tribune, Apr. 28; Federal News Network, March 25; Federation of American Scientists, Feb. 20, 2024
is anybody coordinating a response to ICBM renewal in South Dacota? the Missile silo turned over to the park service is of interest to me as an opportunity for opposition and education.