Obama Administration shuts down US ICBM squadron by 2016

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Despite Promises, Obama Planning to Close ICBM Squadron

President vowed New START treaty would not cause reduction in ICBM force



The Obama Administration plans to shutdown an ICBM squadron by 2016 / AP

BY: Alana Goodman
November 21, 2013 4:59 am

The Obama administration has drafted a plan to shutter an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) squadron three years after it assured hesitant lawmakers that the New START U.S.-Russia arms reduction treaty would not lead to deep cuts in the ICBM force.

A new timeline prepared by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon maps out a strategy to eliminate an ICBM squadron—and destroy its missile silos—by Dec. 5, 2017. An environmental assessment would begin next month.

The document says the reductions are necessary to “meet the New START Treaty compliance date by closing an ICBM squadron and eliminating the associated Launch Facilities.”

Several Democrats on the Senate ICBM coalition voted for New START, vowing that the treaty would maintain a strong ICBM force. Sens. Max Baucus (D.) and Jon Tester (D.), both from Montana, the home of many ICBMs, issued a press release in 2010 backing New START and saying that the missiles would “continue to play a key role in U.S. national security for decades to come.”

“There was some talk around this town about making deep reductions to the ICBM force,” Baucus said in the press release. “We made it clear to the president that was unacceptable, and fought hard to make sure the START Treaty recognized the critical role that ICBMs play in U.S. national security.”
Baucus and Tester did not respond to requests for comment.

According to the OSD timeline, the military would begin removing ICBM missiles from their silos next October, after the environmental assessment is complete. The silo elimination would begin in May 2016 and is estimated to take 19 months.

Analysts say they are particularly troubled by the proposed destruction of the missile silos, a likely permanent move that is not required by New START. They say the silos would be difficult to rebuild if the military needs to bolster its ICBM force in the future.

“If you destroy the silos, it would be much harder to rebuild them [...] and very politically difficult,” said Michaela Dodge, a defense analyst at the Heritage Foundation.

Dodge said the New START requirements could be met simply by removing the ICBMs and maintaining the empty silos in reserve status.

The administration’s plan would also shrink the ICBM force below the mandated numbers. The Air Force previously said it planned to reduce its number of ICBMs from 450 to a baseline of 420 under New START.

Shutting down a squadron would eliminate 50 ICBMs, 66 percent more than the prior Air Force proposal.

Republican members of the Senate ICBM coalition said they were alarmed by the proposal.

“America’s nuclear deterrent helps keep Americans safe and our country free,” Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) told the Free Beacon. “As countries that are not our friends grow closer to modernizing their nuclear weapons programs, it would be irresponsible for us to weaken our own program.”

“If the president is serious about protecting Americans and our allies, he should immediately drop any plans for his Administration to further reduce our ICBMs,” he said.

Sen. Mike Enzi’s (R., Wyo.) office said he “opposes efforts that would impose arbitrary and unilateral reductions in our nuclear force. He believes this would only increase threats to our national security and have a very visible effect on our deterrence strategy. A strong ICBM force is a critical part of protecting our nation. That’s why he opposed the New START Treaty and other attempts to hamstring the role Wyoming plays in our nuclear deterrent.”

The ICBM coalition introduced an amendment on Friday that would block the administration from destroying emptied ICBM silos.

Defense experts say the proposed eliminations would be detrimental to U.S. national security.

“We see that Russia is modernizing and building up its nuclear weapons program; we don’t have that good of an understanding of how many weapons China has; we had recently a North Korea nuclear weapons test,” Dodge said. “So international trends are against us and we are sending the wrong signal by continuing reduction despite these international developments.”

John Noonan, spokesman for House Armed Services Committee Republicans, said there does not appear to be any strategic justification for the proposed reductions, adding that the United States has a responsibility to maintain a large and disperse ICBM force that will deter large-scale enemy attacks.

“Nuclear deterrence is about balance,” he said “This is something that would put the deterrence equation out of balance.”

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Obamalateral Disarmament — U.S. To Cut ICBM Squadron

Posted 11/21/2013 07:03 PM ET




Defense: Breaking yet another promise, this one to Congress, the administration jeopardizes our national security with plans to eliminate an entire squadron of intercontinental ballistic missiles and destroy its silos.

Yet another example of what President Obama meant in 2012 when he promised Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, that after his re-election he would have more "flexibility" on defense issues, comes on the news that an ICBM squadron would be scrapped to comply with the New START Treaty — even as both the Russians and Chinese deploy new ballistic missiles.

A document prepared by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon maps out a strategy to eliminate an ICBM squadron — and destroy its missile silos — by Dec. 5, 2017.

The military would begin removing ICBMs next October, after an environmental assessment is complete, and the silo elimination would begin in May 2016.

The fact is, as the Heritage Foundation notes, the U.S. does not need to eliminate an ICBM squadron to meet New START's limits. The State Department's Oct. 1 fact sheet says the U.S. must dismantle 109 of its deployed ICBMs, deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and deployed heavy bombers, and remove another 138 warheads.

Heritage notes the U.S. has already reduced its deployed warheads by 112 and that destroying an ICBM squadron to comply with New START is unnecessary.

Further cuts, if needed, could be made by removing the missiles and placing the silos in reserve status.

The document says the reductions are necessary to "meet the New START Treaty compliance date by closing an ICBM squadron and eliminating the associated Launch Facilities." But that's not true. New START does not require destruction of the silos.

So why the unnecessary move to cut our offensive missile deterrent force after the administration has scrapped Phase IV of our European-based missile defense, which was the proposed replacement for the ground-based interceptors and missile radars that were scuttled in a betrayal of our Polish and Czech allies?

The president has said he dreams of a world without nuclear weapons, which critics point out seems to mean only a world without U.S. nukes.

He sees U.S. military supremacy as an anachronistic example of the American exceptionalism for which he has apologized so many times.

To that end, in his June 2013 Berlin speech, President Obama spoke of his desire to unilaterally reduce deployed U.S. nuclear forces by up to one-third.

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"FLEXABILITY" - Obama orders ICBM squadron disbanded, silos filled.

"FLEXABILITY" - Obama orders ICBM squadron disbanded, silos filled.(INV).

Defense: Breaking yet another promise, this one to Congress, the administration jeopardizes our national security with plans to eliminate an entire squadron of intercontinental ballistic missiles and destroy its silos.

Yet another example of what President Obama meant in 2012 when he promised Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, that after his re-election he would have more "flexibility" on defense issues, comes on the news that an ICBM squadron would be scrapped to comply with the New START Treaty — even as both the Russians and Chinese deploy new ballistic missiles.

A document prepared by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon maps out a strategy to eliminate an ICBM squadron — and destroy its missile silos — by Dec. 5, 2017.

The military would begin removing ICBMs next October, after an environmental assessment is complete, and the silo elimination would begin in May 2016.

The fact is, as the Heritage Foundation notes, the U.S. does not need to eliminate an ICBM squadron to meet New START's limits. The State Department's Oct. 1 fact sheet says the U.S. must dismantle 109 of its deployed ICBMs, deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and deployed heavy bombers, and remove another 138 warheads.

Heritage notes the U.S. has already reduced its deployed warheads by 112 and that destroying an ICBM squadron to comply with New START is unnecessary.

Further cuts, if needed, could be made by removing the missiles and placing the silos in reserve status.

The document says the reductions are necessary to "meet the New START Treaty compliance date by closing an ICBM squadron and eliminating the associated Launch Facilities." But that's not true. New START does not require destruction of the silos.

So why the unnecessary move to cut our offensive missile deterrent force after the administration has scrapped Phase IV of our European-based missile defense, which was the proposed replacement for the ground-based interceptors and missile radars that were scuttled in a betrayal of our Polish and Czech allies?

The president has said he dreams of a world without nuclear weapons, which critics point out seems to mean only a world without U.S. nukes.

He sees U.S. military supremacy as an anachronistic example of the American exceptionalism for which he has apologized so many times.

To that end, in his June 2013 Berlin speech, President Obama spoke of his desire to unilaterally reduce deployed U.S. nuclear forces by up to one-third.

Never mind his promises to U.S. lawmakers that he would maintain a strong land-based ICBM force, a promise he made to garner votes for ratification of the New START Treaty.

Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, both Democrats from Montana, home of many ICBMs, issued a press release in 2010 backing New START and saying the missiles would "continue to play a key role in U.S. national security for decades to come."

Read the full story here.

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Pentagon Confirms it Requested Missile-Decommissioning Study

Feb. 24, 2014


Air Force Capt. Allen Lamb and Capt. Bill Christians, combat crew commanders, stand on a platform at a missile silo in South Dakota in November 1964. The Pentagon on Friday confirmed it had requested environmental studies on shutting down some of the country's remaining 450 Minuteman 3 missile silos. (LIFE photo/Minot Air Force Base)

The Pentagon on Friday confirmed reports it had requested an environmental study on shutting down some underground silos housing strategic missiles.

Defense Department spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said the Air Force assessment would aid the Pentagon in deciding where to carry out arms-control cuts mandated under the New START accord with Russia, the Great Falls Tribune reported.

"The [environmental assessment] will collect information from all three missile bases on the effects of eliminating no more than 50 [intercontinental ballistic missile] silos," the spokeswoman said. "While we don't know what the final force structure will be at this time, the administration remains committed to maintaining safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrence capabilities that include the ICBM leg of the nation's nuclear triad."

A number of congressional lawmakers last week criticized reports that the Air Force may have begun the studies, pointing to a federal law explicitly prohibiting the Pentagon from using appropriated fiscal 2014 funds to analyze the impacts of shutting down nuclear-missile silos.

Smith did not indicate where the department was getting the money to conduct the environmental assessments.

Air Force Global Strike Command currently fields approximately 450 silo-based Minuteman 3 missiles, apportioned evenly among three bases: Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. A reduction to a maximum of 420 land-based missiles is expected under New START.

The treaty obligates Russia and the United States by 2018 to limit their respective arsenals of long-range nuclear delivery vehicles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, to 700 apiece, with each side permitted to hold 100 more systems in reserve.

Senator John Hoeven (R-N.D.) questioned how the Pentagon could legally proceed with the studies, in an interview with Minot Daily News.

"I don't think they can," said Hoeven, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who worked to ensure the Defense Department would not receive any fiscal 2014 funds for conducting silo shut-down studies. "We put right in statute that they're not allowed to use funds to go forward. We'll see what their response is. Hopefully, they'll respond, 'OK we recognize that it's the law,' and so they stand down.

"If not, then we would have to take next steps," he continued.

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U.S. to Start Cutting Submarine Missile-Launchers Next Year

Jan. 6, 2014
By Rachel Oswald
Global Security Newswire


The Navy's nuclear-armed ballistic submarine USS Maine conducts surface navigational operations about 50 miles south of Puerto Rico in this undated photo. Beginning in 2015, launch tubes in Ohio-class vessels will be reduced to 20 each, in accordance with New START requirements. (U.S. Navy photo)

The United States next year is slated to begin reducing launch tubes on each of its Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, a new independent report states.

The elimination of four operational launch tubes on each of the 14 submarines that make up the Navy's Ohio submarine fleet will be the first substantial reduction in U.S. strategic weapon delivery capability since the 2011 New START accord went into effect, according to Hans Kristensen, who co-authored an assessment on the current status of U.S. nuclear forces. The report was published in the January/February edition of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Nearly three years after the New START pact with Russia entered into force, implementation of the treaty has "been going very slowly," Kristensen said in a brief Monday phone interview.

The treaty requires Russia and the United States by 2018 to each reduce their fielded stockpiles of strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550 and to cut their arsenals of long-range delivery vehicles down to 700 apiece, with an additional 100 systems allowed in reserve on each side.

"The way that the U.S. military has approached implementation of the New START treaty so far has not done anything that has actually affected the actual number of nuclear [delivery vehicles] that are in the war plan," said Kristensen, who directs the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists.

Instead, the Pentagon has focused on reducing the nuclear-delivery capability of selected vehicles, such as heavy bombers, that have already been retired, he said.

The Defense Department has the latitude to pursue that approach because the treaty allows so many years -- seven, specifically -- before each side must carry out all mandated reductions, Kristensen said.

Once all of the Ohio-class submarines have had their launch tubes capped at 20 each -- a project that is to take place in the 2015-to-2016 time frame -- the United States will be able to deploy no more than 240 submarine-launched ballistic missiles at any time, according to the report written by Kristensen and Robert Norris, who is also with the Federation of American Scientists.

The submarine set to replace aging Ohio-class vessels -- dubbed "SSBN(X)" -- is expected to have only 16 missile tubes, which will reduce further the number of sea-launched ballistic missiles that the United States can deploy. The replacement fleet is also envisioned to be smaller -- only 12 submarines instead of the current 14. The Navy is not expected to begin building the first boat before 2021, and could field the vessel a decade later, according to the Bulletin report.

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UNITED STATES HAS NO MORE MINUTEMAN MIRVED WARHEADS

July 2, 2014 Leave a comment
by Joel Skousen | World Affairs Brief

Despite Russia backing out of this treaty and forging ahead with new missiles with multiple warheads (a technology Nixon and Kissinger sold to Russia), the US just finished removing all of the triple MIRVED warheads on all US Minuteman ICBMs:

The Minuteman ICBMs were previously configured to carry up to THREE multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles, (MIRV), that were each armed with a nuclear warhead and able to hit THREE separate targets from a single missile launch.

On June 16, maintainers at Malmstrom removed the LAST of the extra MIRVs on a Minuteman Missile in the 341st Missile Wing’s inventory. The 2010 Nuclear Posture Review, a U.S. national security strategy document, dictated [unilaterally, I might add] that all Minuteman III missiles be reconfigured to carry only one MIRV with ONE warhead.

Anyone who still thinks that the U.S. intends to defend America with its arsenal of nuclear weapons is just kidding themselves.
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LAST MALMSTROM ICBM RECONFIGURED UNDER TREATY

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By Jenn Rowell | The Great Falls Tribune

In an effort to comply with New START, a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia, the Air Force completed work to reconfigure all of the nation’s Minuteman III missiles, which are located at Malmstrom, F.E. Warren and Minot Air Force bases. The Minuteman III is the only intercontinental ballistic missile remaining in service.

The Minuteman ICBMs were previously configured to carry up to three multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles, MIRVs, that were each armed with a nuclear warhead and able to hit three separate targets from a single missile launch.

On June 16, maintainers at Malmstrom removed the last of the extra MIRVs on a Minuteman Missile in the 341st Missile Wing’s inventory.

The New START treaty, which entered into force Feb. 5, 2011, limits the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550, and limits the number of nuclear capable deployed and nondeployed delivery vehicles to 800. Of that, 700 can be deployed. These numbers must be met by Feb. 5, 2018.

The treaty doesn’t regulate how the U.S. or Russia choose to configure their strategic nuclear weapons within those limits.

The 2010 Nuclear Posture Review, a U.S. national security strategy document, dictated that all Minuteman III missiles be reconfigured to carry only one MIRV with one warhead.

“The United States will deMIRV all deployed ICBMs, so that each Minuteman III ICBM has only one nuclear warhead. ‘DeMIRVing’ will reduce each missile to a single warhead. This step will enhance the stability of the nuclear balance by reducing the incentives for either side to strike first,” the document stated.

In April, the Pentagon announced its implementation plan to meet the New START limits by reducing the ICBM force to 400 deployed missiles with 54 in warm status, meaning those silos will be maintained and communications systems remain in place so that the silo can be armed with a missile at any time.

Silos in warm status count toward the treaty limitation of 800 deployed and nondeployed launchers.

The Pentagon plan also includes 60 deployed nuclear-capable bombers and 240 deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The Pentagon also plans to maintain 40 submarine launched ballistic missile tubes, 20 tubes on two submarines in overhaul and six heavy bombers that are nondeployed.

“This was the last Minuteman III in the Air Force to be ‘deMIRVed,’ and this is a major milestone in meeting the force structure numbers to comply with the New START requirements,” said Steve Ray, Air Force Global Strike Command missile maintenance division. “This is historic because we’ve had MIRVs in the field for more than 40 years, since 1970 when the first Minuteman III came on alert.”

The Air Force was the lead agency in the Minuteman reconfiguration, but multiple federal agencies were involved in the process.

Ray said the Air Force coordinated with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which maintains a database of where all missiles are located, with the Department of Energy for shipment of the weapons, and with U.S. Strategic Command, who must be notified of how many weapons they have supporting them at all times.

“At the base, it took a five-man missile mechanical team to go out and pull the top off the missile, and they were supported by a large security forces team and helicopters, which ensured safe transport to and from the base,” Ray said of the work completed at all three ICBM bases. “The missile operators also played a role, as they maintain command and control at the missile sites. Everyone at the heart of the missile operations team was involved. It was a real team effort.”

A team of 12 people at the weapons storage area at each base was involved in the process of disassembling and reconfiguring the system to a single re-entry vehicle, making sure the maintenance was done in a safe and secure manner, according to AFGSC.

“We’re reducing the number of weapons from a Cold War high in conjunction with the Russians,” Ray said. “To take these multiple independent reentry vehicles to a single reentry vehicle is a significant milestone in stability and arms control.”

Malmstrom is also in the process of eliminating the 50 ICBM silos from the former 564th Missile Squadron, which was deactivated in 2008. All of the squadron’s launch facilities will be demolished.

Russian inspectors verified April 9 that 18 ICBM launch facilities had been eliminated at Malmstrom.

The initial phase of elimination began in January.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Air Force Civil Engineering Center selected Bryan Construction Inc. of Colorado Springs, Colo., as the demolition contractor. Current estimates call for eliminating the 50 launch facilities, located in Toole, Pondera, Teton and Chouteau counties, by late 2014.

The contractor will eliminate the launch facilities by filling them with earth and gravel. Gravel fill is a more effective and environmentally friendly method of elimination that’s also faster and more economical than those used in the past under the original START treaty. The work doesn’t pose any threat to public safety or the environment, according to Malmstrom officials.

The verification immediately reduces the number of ICBM launchers the U.S. is accountable for under New START requirements.

After the April inspection, 16 more launch facilities had been completely demolished, according to Malmstrom officials. Those sites must remain undisturbed for 60 days and then they are removed from the U.S. launcher count under New START.

In total, 32 silos have been removed from the U.S. launcher count. Two more have been demolished but haven’t reached the 60-day mark for removal, according to Malmstrom officials.

[American Patriot]

Oh, good.... we've got no balls, and no dick now.