Air Force ‘stacks’ first inert model of future ICBM

The Air Force has erected an inert version of the new LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile at a launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the Pentagon said Monday.

“This is more than a milestone — this integration demonstrates our commitment to moving forward with the pace necessary to modernize the ground-based leg of our nuclear triad,” said Gen. Dale White, director of critical major weapons systems for the Department of Defense.

The “stacking” is the first full visual representation of the missile that the U.S. plans to put into hundreds of new silos in north central United States as the land-based leg of the nuclear deterrence “triad.” The missile has no warhead or fuel, so there is no risk of detonation.

It would replace the Cold War-era LGM-30 Minuteman III currently spread among 450 silos arrayed around F. E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

In addition to ICBMs, the nuclear triad also includes sea-based Ohio and future Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, and B-52 Stratofortress, B-2 Spirit and future B-21 Raider manned bombers.

The stacking concluded a four-month test to prove the viability of each of the missile’s stages, propulsion, shrouds and components assembled into a single vehicle on the test pad.

“The vertical integration event demonstrated the maturity of the missile’s design and verified that all critical subsystems are on track for initial flight testing in 2027,” the Air Force said in a statement.

The stacking also was used to test logistics, transport and specialized lifting cranes that will be used to install future missiles into silos. A prototype silo is being built in Utah.

“Sentinel is no longer conceptual or designs for what the nation’s next-generation ICBM looks like; it’s a physical, fully integrated system that is one major step closer to being ready for flight testing,” said White.

White said Sentinel remains on track to field “initial capability” in the early 2030s. The Air Force has said process of switching over from the Minuteman III to the Sentinel is expected to take well into the later part of the century.