The United States' deployment of the new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, designed to replace the aging fleet of Minuteman III missiles, may miss its target date of May 2029 by one year, the Government Accountability Office said in a report on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th June, 2023) The United States' deployment of the new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, designed to replace the aging fleet of Minuteman III missiles, may miss its target date of May 2029 by one year, the Government Accountability Office said in a report on Thursday.
"Sentinel is behind schedule due to staffing shortfalls, delays with clearance processing, and classified information technology infrastructure challenges. Additionally, the program is experiencing supply chain disruptions, leading to further schedule delays," the report states.
Previous estimates stated that the development phase would last 106 months, but the new GAO report shows the planned cycle time has been extended to 118 months.
The program expects Sentinel's first flight and full functional tests between 2024 and 2025, the report added.
The Sentinel program is an effort to modernize the United States' nuclear arsenal, a total replacement of the US intercontinental ballistic missile system infrastructure, including 400 missiles, 450 silos, and more than 600 facilities over a 31,900 square-mile landmass, according to the report.
