Defense Primer: Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) Capabilities

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 RL33640, U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues, by Amy F. 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.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 10, 2020
Accession Number
AD1170035

Entities

People

  • Benji Johnson

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Ballistic Trajectories
  • Composite Materials
  • Computer Programs
  • Congress
  • Costs
  • Department Of Defense
  • Force Structure
  • Ground Based
  • Guidance Computers
  • Intellectual Property
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • Life Cycles
  • Maintenance
  • Materials
  • Rockets
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Weapon Systems
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting
  • Software Engineering
  • Strategic Security Studies