The review of the missile development began amid reports of a rise in project costs. In early July, sources told Bloomberg that the cost of the Sentinel program had increased by 81% to $151 billion. Reuters sources said the project had risen to $160 billion, UNN reports.
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The Pentagon said that U.S. law requires work to be curtailed when estimates are exceeded by 25%, but makes an exception for projects of particular national security importance.
The inspection of the Sentinel missile development by Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Logistics William LaPlante confirmed the importance of the program for national security, the department said.
LaPlante said there were no alternatives to the project and called the cost increase reasonable. According to him, the U.S. Defense Department is fully aware of the scale of the costs of the new intercontinental missile, but sees risks in refusing to modernize.
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The deputy minister also instructed the Armed Forces to restructure the program and "ensure that there is an appropriate management structure to control costs," RBC reports.
Sentinel is a program to create a new nuclear-tipped ICBM that will replace the LGM-30G Minuteman III, which has been in service with the US Air Force since 1970. The manufacturer is Northrop Grumman Corporation. It is planned that the Minuteman III will be completely replaced by the Sentinel by the mid-2030s.
According to the Pentagon, the total cost of the project will be almost $141 billion. This amount is 81% higher than the estimates made in the previous decision on the program in September 2020.
