Overview
- The Air Force, which disclosed the groundbreaking Friday, said a full-scale Sentinel launch silo is now under construction in Promontory, Utah, with Northrop Grumman and Bechtel leading the work.
- The test site will validate a digitally designed, modular, repeatable build meant to shorten construction timelines, cut costs, and simplify upkeep over the life of the system.
- After tests in May 2025 showed refurbishing Minuteman III silos would be slower and more expensive, the service chose to dig new silos to keep current missiles on alert until replacements are ready.
- The plan covers about 450 new silos, launch control centers, and a modern fiber network across the Great Plains after projected costs swelled toward $160 billion and triggered a 2024 Nunn-McCurdy review that kept the program but ordered a restructure.
- Northrop reports successful test-fires of each missile stage and a post-boost hot-fire, with a flight test slated for 2027 and initial operational capability targeted for the early 2030s.