{
  "id": "us-icbm-force",
  "name": "U.S. ICBM force",
  "aliases": [
    "Minuteman III force",
    "ICBM leg"
  ],
  "domain": "nuclear",
  "country": "USA",
  "category": "Nuclear force component",
  "status": "active",
  "fielded": null,
  "operators": [
    "USA"
  ],
  "summary": "Land leg of the U.S. triad: 400 deployed Minuteman III missiles in silos at three Air Force bases, each with one warhead.",
  "specs": [
    {
      "k": "launchers",
      "v": 400,
      "src": [
        "fas-nn-us-2026"
      ],
      "conf": "medium",
      "note": "400 deployed missiles; 450 silos including 50 kept warm"
    },
    {
      "k": "wh_assigned",
      "v": 800,
      "src": [
        "fas-nn-us-2026"
      ],
      "conf": "medium",
      "note": "Up to 800 warheads assigned, about half deployed"
    },
    {
      "k": "wh_deployed",
      "v": 400,
      "src": [
        "fas-nn-us-2026"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "delivery",
      "v": "LGM-30G Minuteman III",
      "src": [
        "fas-nn-us-2026"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "warhead_type",
      "v": "W87-0/Mk21 (300 kt) or W78/Mk12A (335 kt), one per missile",
      "src": [
        "fas-nn-us-2026"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "bases",
      "v": "F.E. Warren AFB (Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska); Minot AFB (North Dakota); Malmstrom AFB (Montana)",
      "src": [
        "fas-nn-us-2026"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "program",
      "v": "LGM-35A Sentinel: 659 missiles planned, 400 deployed; initial operating capability planned FY29, may slip to FY33; first flight test planned before March 2028",
      "src": [
        "fas-nn-us-2026"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    }
  ],
  "payloads": [],
  "variants": [],
  "art": "nuclear",
  "image": {
    "file": "us-icbm-force.jpg",
    "thumb": "us-icbm-force-thumb.jpg",
    "credit": "Tech. Sgt. Draeke Layman, U.S. Space Force / DVIDS",
    "license": "Public domain",
    "url": "https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9378851",
    "title": "Unarmed Minuteman III Test Launch Validates Reliability and Accuracy of ICBM Force",
    "source": "DVIDS",
    "dvids_id": 9378851,
    "unit": "Space Launch Delta 30"
  },
  "verified": null,
  "changelog": [
    {
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "change": "Entry created from United States nuclear weapons, 2026 (FAS Nuclear Notebook)"
    }
  ],
  "url": "https://www.defensepedia.com/systems/us-icbm-force.html",
  "sources": {
    "fas-nn-us-2026": {
      "title": "United States nuclear weapons, 2026",
      "publisher": "Federation of American Scientists Nuclear Notebook, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists",
      "url": "https://thebulletin.org/premium/2026-03/united-states-nuclear-weapons-2026/",
      "published": "2026-03-01",
      "tier": 2,
      "checked": "2026-11-08"
    }
  }
}