Defense procurement

The cost of a new ICBM is going up. Here’s why the US Air Force isn’t concerned.

The Air Force expects the price of its next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile to increase in the short term to pay for improved infrastructure, such as an overhaul of the existing silos, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command said Wednesday.

But ultimately, the service projects that the total cost estimate for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program will come back down after the Air Force makes a source selection decision, in which competitors Boeing and Northrop Grumman will duke it out over which company can offer the best price, Gen. Timothy Ray told reporters during a roundtable event.

Why the fluctuation in cost? GBSD will reuse much of the infrastructure where the existing Minuteman III missiles are housed, and by making certain investments into those facilities up front, the Air Force will be able to maintain the new missiles more easily and more cheaply over the life of the program, Ray said.