How Will America’s Next-Generation ICBM Improve Nuclear Deterrence?

Posted: July 11th, 2017

By Deborah Lee James

Former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James has over 30 years of senior level homeland and national security experience in the federal government and private sector. She is also the author of Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success. During her time as Secretary, her responsibilities included organizing, training, equipping and providing for the welfare of The Department of the Air Force and its nearly 660,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilian Airmen and their families. Secretary James also oversaw the Air Force’s annual budget of more than $139 billion. Today, James serves on boards of directors and advisory boards of companies and not-for-profits focused on security, including Textron, Unisys, and Noblis.

The only remaining U.S. ICBM, the Minuteman III, entered service in 1970. While upgrades have extended the life of the Minuteman III program, the missiles themselves, silos, and command and control systems are all in need of modernization. The Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program will replace these missiles and modernize their facilities to modernize the U.S. ICBM nuclear deterrent. The Cipher Brief spoke to former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James to learn more about why this new program is necessary to U.S. national security and how the current fiscal environment could affect this and other Air Force programs.

The Cipher Brief: What will be the role of the new Ground Based Strategic Deterrent for U.S. national security?

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