Air Force Will Restructure Sentinel Program Over 18-24 Months

(Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon’s top weapons buyer said there are “no excuses” for the 81% projected cost growth of the US’s new intercontinental ballistic missile program, and acknowledged the price tag to American taxpayers could end up even higher. 

William LaPlante, the undersecretary for acquisition, said planners had failed to predict the true cost of the ground element of the Northrop Grumman Corp. program, known as Sentinel. That’s a reference to the more than 400 new launch facilities and thousands of miles of modern fiber-optic networks that will be required. The Pentagon will also need permanent and temporary real estate easements as it builds out the ground network.

“Its scale, scope and complexity are something we haven’t attempted a nation for over 60 years,” LaPlante said. “There are reasons for this cost growth but no excuses.”

A Pentagon review concluded that costs for the Sentinel may increase to as much as $214 million per missile when calculated in 2020 dollars, up from $118 million, Bloomberg News reported earlier. The overall cost of the program is now projected to be $141 billion, though LaPlante said the ultimate cost has a 50% chance of being higher than that.

Cost of Sentinel ICBM Swells Again to $214 Million a Missile

The Pentagon now estimates there will be delay of several years in fielding the first missile. The most recent estimate had said it would enter service in 2030.

Air Force officials say the impact of the potential cost growth won’t be felt immediately but instead could impact programs years from now if the increases can’t be rolled back.

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