Aging US Nuclear Missiles Could Be Extended Until 2050, Air Force Says
Minuteman III boosters undergo maintenance at Hill Air Force Base, Utah on June 2.
Photographer: Ronald Bradshaw/US Air ForceAir Force officials have told congressional auditors it’s feasible to extend, until 2050, Boeing Co.’s aging Minuteman III nuclear missiles that have been the ground-based leg of the US-nuclear triad arsenal for more than half a century.
The extension would add 11 years to the planned lifetime of the missiles, which have been on alert since the 1970s.