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Thursday, June 19, 2014

Malmstrom completes final Minuteman III configuration

LGM-30 Minuteman III ICBMAir Force Global Strike Command met a major milestone June 16, when maintainers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, removed the last multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle in the Air Force intercontinental ballistic missile inventory from a Minuteman III.

The reentry vehicle is the portion of the missile that houses the nuclear warhead. Re-configuring the missile to carry only a single reentry vehicle helps bring the Air Force towards compliance with the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and comply with direction from the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review, Steve Ray, Air Force Global Strike Command missile maintenance division, said.

"This was the last Minuteman III in the Air Force to be 'deMIRVed,' and this is a major milestone in meeting the force structure numbers to comply with the New START requirements," Ray said. "This is historic because we've had MIRVs in the field for more than 40 years, since 1970 when the first Minuteman III came on alert."

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