Photo: USAF
After for a long time most of humanity believed the widespread use of the phrase "intercontinental ballistic missile" (ICBM) is mostly to be found in history books and North Korea, Russia decided it’s time to bring it back into focus, by launching an invasion of Ukraine, and hints of nuclear disaster.
To be fair though, even if ICBMs did no longer pop up in casual conversations all that much, they never really went away. In fact, research and development of newer and better such systems continued, and are only visible now because of the events in Europe.
For a while now, the American military has been trying to replace the half-a-century-old Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system with something better. In September 2020, it settled on a thing called Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), and awarded the contract to make it to a consortium led by Northrop Grumman.
Now, Minuteman sounds very cool, but Ground Based Strategic Deterrent does not. As with all stuff military, the new system needed a moniker civilians could relate to, apart from the technical designation, and this week it got exactly that: as per an announcement made by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), from now on the GBSD will be called LGM-35A Sentinel.
“The name Sentinel recognizes the mindset that thousands of Airmen, past and present, have brought to the deterrence mission, and will serve as a reminder for those who operate, secure, and maintain this system in the future about the discipline and responsibility their duty entails,” explained the reasoning behind the decision Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall.
Costing less than extending the service of the Minuteman III, the Sentinel will comprise a modular architecture, making it capable of incorporating new technologies as soon as they emerge. The new missiles of the system will also be easier to maintain and operate.
The LGM-35A Sentinel is expected to become operational by the end of the decade, and it will be kept on watch until the late 2070s.
For a while now, the American military has been trying to replace the half-a-century-old Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system with something better. In September 2020, it settled on a thing called Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), and awarded the contract to make it to a consortium led by Northrop Grumman.
Now, Minuteman sounds very cool, but Ground Based Strategic Deterrent does not. As with all stuff military, the new system needed a moniker civilians could relate to, apart from the technical designation, and this week it got exactly that: as per an announcement made by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), from now on the GBSD will be called LGM-35A Sentinel.
“The name Sentinel recognizes the mindset that thousands of Airmen, past and present, have brought to the deterrence mission, and will serve as a reminder for those who operate, secure, and maintain this system in the future about the discipline and responsibility their duty entails,” explained the reasoning behind the decision Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall.
Costing less than extending the service of the Minuteman III, the Sentinel will comprise a modular architecture, making it capable of incorporating new technologies as soon as they emerge. The new missiles of the system will also be easier to maintain and operate.
The LGM-35A Sentinel is expected to become operational by the end of the decade, and it will be kept on watch until the late 2070s.
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