Air Force Attacks Sentinel ICBM Challenge With $3.7 Billion in 2025

by Olawale Abaire, Warrior Editorial Fellow

Air Force Commits $3.7 Billion to Sentinel ICBM in 2025

The United States Air Force has allocated a significant amount of its budget for the development of the Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) program.

For fiscal year 2025, the Air Force has earmarked $3.7 billion specifically for the Sentinel program. This is part of the Department of the Air Force’s larger $217.5 billion budget for the same fiscal year.

Interestingly, the Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) program is a major part of the United States’ nuclear deterrence strategy, which has been a significant focus of the Air Force’s budgetary considerations.

The ICBM is intended to replace the aging LGM-30 Minuteman III missiles, designed and managed by Northrop Grumman that have been in service since the 1970s. However, funding for the Sentinel ICBM comes at a time when the Air Force is facing broader budgetary pressures, including potential cuts that could impact modernization efforts across the service.

But, the Sentinel program has been seen as too critical to national defense to be delayed or scaled back, underscoring the priority it holds within the Air Force’s strategic planning.

The initial cost estimate for the Sentinel ICBM program was around $96 billion. Now, the recent reports indicate that the cost has increased to over $131 billion, representing an increase of at least 37% over the pre-pandemic cost estimate. This cost overrun has triggered a Nunn-McCurdy breach, a provision that requires the Department of Defense (DoD) to notify Congress when a program incurs a cost or schedule overrun of more than 15%.