16-Year Effort, $1.6 Billion
The USAF has selected Boeing as prime contractor for the guidance subsystems for US ICBMs over the next 16 years in a $1.6 billion contract, the company announced on 1 February.
Boeing will maintain the 24/7 readiness and accuracy of Minuteman ICBM guidance systems — which have logged more than 40 million hours of continuous operation — to ensure safe, secure and effective strategic deterrence into the late 2030s. “We built the Minuteman’s guidance system, so no one knows it like Boeing. Our highly-specialized facilities and top-flight engineers enable us to sustain it with unmatched quality and precision,” said Ted Kerzie, Program Director of Strategic Deterrence Systems.
The Boeing-built ICBM weapon system has served as the backbone of the US nuclear triad since the inception of strategic deterrence, and is the only company that has continuously supported every ICBM subsystem — guidance, ground, propulsion and re-entry — over the lifetime of the system.