Minuteman

[TT-1 Pinto]

ICBM, porte aperte e .... pisolini ....

 

Leaving the Door Open to More Scrutiny ....

 

On two occasions this year, Minuteman III launch control officers violated Air Force safety rules by deliberately leaving the blast door to their launch control center open while one of the two crewmembers inside the center slept, reported the Associated Press on Tuesday.

The first case happened at Minot AFB, N.D., in April; the second incident occurred in May at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., according to the wire service's Oct. 22 report.

In each case, the Air Force meted out administrative punishment to the launch crew commander and deputy commander, stated AP.

While the Air Force instruction on ICBM weapon safety allows for one crewmember at a time to nap on duty in the LCC, it states that both crewmembers must be awake if the center's blast door is open, according to AP.

This is to prevent someone from gaining unauthorized access to the center.

"This is not a training problem. This is some people out there are having a problem with discipline," Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, told AP.

The security of the crews' Minuteman missiles was not compromised in either case, according to the report.

 

10/23/2013

 

Fonte .... il "Daily Report" dell'AFA ....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Grandi manutenzioni ...

The Air Force completed the first programmed depot maintenance of a nuclear launch facility since its activation in the 1960s.

The first launch site belongs to Malmstrom AFB, Mont. The remainder of the sites at Malmstrom, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., and Minot AFB, N.D., will be completed over the next eight years and will then remain on an eight-year PDM cycle.

Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, visited all three ICBM bases last week including a May 10 visit to the Malmstrom site where members of the 583rd Missile Maintenance Squadron, formerly Rivet Mile, were completing their work.

Fonte: AFA ... ICBMs Undergoing First-Ever Round of Depot Maintenance ...

Gli esordi ... in un documentario dell'USAF ...

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Quarto lancio (quest'anno) di un Minuteman III dalla California ...

 

DefenseNews ... US launches unarmed ICBM from California in system test ...

 

USAF ... F.E. Warren AFB tests Minuteman III missile with launch from Vandenberg ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Altro giro ... altra corsa ...

I Minuteman III si avviano a diventare 'eterni' come i B-52 ...

Quote

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff USAF Gen. Paul Selva said Thursday the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missiles may need a fourth refurbishment program to extend their viability before the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent becomes available in the late 2020s.
“The Minuteman III was put in the ground in 1973 with a plan to do two life extensions,” Selva said at a Strategic Deterrent Coalition conference outside Washington, D.C. 
“We are now on the third and may have to do a fourth before we can get its replacement in the ground.”
GBSD, in development at Boeing and Northrop Grumman, is expected to begin entering service in fiscal 2029.

 ... airforcemag.com ... Selva: DOD May Again Refurbish ICBMs ...

[meravigliato]

Ho letto un interessante articolo sul sistema di guida inerziale del Peacekeeper:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/30254/this-isnt-a-sci-fi-prop-its-a-doomsday-navigator-for-americas-biggest-cold-war-icbm

"AIRS was critical in lowering the circular error probable (CEP, aka accuracy) of the missile down to 40 meters. The Minuteman III, which remains in service today, has a CEP of roughly six times that."

[TT-1 Pinto]

Salto di qualità ...

Quote

In 2014, “60 Minutes” made famous the 8-inch floppy disks used by one antiquated Air Force computer system that, in a crisis, could receive an order from the president to launch nuclear missiles from silos across the United States.
But no more. 
At long last, that system, the Strategic Automated Command and Control System or SACCS, has dumped the floppy disk, moving to a “highly-secure solid state digital storage solution” this past June, said Lt. Col. Jason Rossi, commander of the Air Force’s 595th Strategic Communications Squadron.

... c4isrnet.com ... The US nuclear forces’ Dr. Strangelove-era messaging system finally got rid of its floppy disks ...

[Gian Vito]

Il CEP dei Minuteman III attuali è di 110-120 metri, dopo i recenti aggiornamenti.

[TT-1 Pinto]

I 50 anni di allerta del Minuteman III ...

https://advocate.socialchorus.com/boeing/BNN/articles/minuteman-iii-celebrating-a-half-century-of-continuous-alert-1?utm_source=emaildatabase&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=minutemananniversary&utm_content=8132020&utm_bu=bds-defense&utm_topic=minuteman&utm_audience=defense

 

Modificato 26 Agosto 2020 da TT-1 Pinto

[TT-1 Pinto]

A volte succede ...

Quote

An unarmed Minuteman III test launch was aborted May 5 when the missile’s computer detected a fault during its terminal countdown and stopped the launch process, Air Force Global Strike Command said in a statement (*).
The Air Force regularly tests its ICBM fleet with launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to ensure the missiles are effective.
--- --- ---
It is the first unsuccessful test of a Minuteman III since 2018, when a launched missile developed an “anomaly” during flight.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/icbm-shuts-itself-down-before-launch-test-aborted/ ...

(*) … afgsc.af.mil ... https://www.afgsc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2595189/minuteman-iii-test-launch-aborts-prior-to-launch/ ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Dalla pagina "Contracts" del DoD del 7 Luglio 2021 ...

Quote

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Hill Air Force Base, Utah, has been awarded a $3,860,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile ground subsystems support. 
This contract provides for sustaining engineering, maintenance engineering, test and assessment, modification of systems and equipment, software maintenance, developmental engineering, production engineering, repair and procurement. 
Work will be performed at Hill AFB, Utah; Vandenberg AFB, California; Malmstrom AFB, Montana; Minot AFB, North Dakota; FE Warren AFB, Wyoming; and Offutt AFB, Nebraska. 
The work is expected to be completed July 6, 2039. 
This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with two offers received. 
Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $500,000 are being obligated at the time of award on the first task order. 
Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8214-21-D-0002).

Anche qui ... news.northropgrumman.com ... https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/releases/us-air-force-selects-northrop-grumman-to-continue-its-role-as-icbm-ground-subsystems-support-contractor ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

In attesa del Ground Based Strategic Deterrent ...

Quote

The United States Air Force’s transition from the Minuteman III ICBM to the new Ground Based Strategic Deterrent will be one of the most important weapon system deployments ever.
The U.S. Air Force debuted the Minuteman I Missile in 1962, the Minuteman II in 1965, and the Minuteman III - with a planned a 10-year life span - in 1970. 
A half-century later, 400 Minuteman IIIs remain on alert.
“Minuteman III was a 10-year weapon system that was asked to last 60 years,” said Maj. Gen. Anthony W. Genatempo, commander of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center and program executive officer for strategic systems ... 
But now the transition to a next-generation missile is beginning - and awareness that there’s more to be modernized than the missile alone is growing clearer.
As the new Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) is developed and fielded, the Air Force must also update its missile launch facilities and support infrastructure, launch control centers, squadron and wing support infrastructure, and command and control systems, as well as policies, processes and procedures, security, the supply chain, and even the workforce. 
All must adapt to the coming changes, even as the existing systems must remain ready and continuously on alert, ready to deploy on very short notice.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/cutting-edge-digital-solutions-icbm-modernization-guidehouse/ ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

L'Air Force Global Strike Command ha lanciato, per un test di prova, un ICBM Minuteman III ...

Cita

Air Force Global Strike Command test-launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile Aug. 16, several days after delaying the test to avoid stoking tensions with China.
The launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., took place at 12:49 a.m. Pacific time. 
The ICBM reentry vehicle traveled approximately 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, AFGSC announced in a press release (*).
Airmen from the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., and Sailors from the Navy’s Strategic Communications Wing executed the launch on board a Navy E-6B Mercury aircraft using the Airborne Launch Control System.
Airmen from the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., and 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., helped support the test launch, while the Space Force’s Col. Bryan Titus, vice commander of Space Launch Delta 30, was the launch decision authority.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/air-force-global-strike-command-test-launches-minuteman-iii/ ...

(*) ... afgsc.af.mil ... https://www.afgsc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3132112/afgscs-most-recent-minuteman-iii-test-occurs-on-historic-date/ ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Dietro le quinte …

... airandspaceforces.com ... https://www.airandspaceforces.com/us-launches-minuteman-iii-icbm-three-test-warheads/ ...