2024-03-30 21:44:11
The first test of the US intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) LGM-35A Sentinel has been postponed for at least two years due to significant cost overruns on the program and delays in the development of its systems, Defense One reported, citing a representative of the US Air Force, Day.Az reports with link to Interfax.
Now the first flight test of the rocket will take place no earlier than February 2026. Previously, it was planned to test the rocket in December 2023.
According to an Air Force spokesman, the program has been delayed both due to rising costs and due to with delay in delivery of guidance system components.”
The Pentagon is currently reviewing the entire Sentinel program after the program exceeded projected costs by 37% and now totals nearly $132 billion.
Sentinel is a US program to develop a new nuclear-armed ICBM to replace the aging LGM-30G Minuteman III, which has been in service since the early 1970s. According to the Pentagon, new ICBMs should begin to be supplied to US strategic nuclear forces in 2030.
In total, it is planned to place 400 Sentinel ICBMs in silo launchers and build 634 such missiles.
Subscribe to our WhatsApp channel and stay up to date with the main news!