Modernizing the nation’s aging intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system

The U.S. Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) is the weapon system replacement for the aging LGM-30 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system (ICBM). GBSD is the Air Force program to modernize the nation’s aging force of ICBMs, the land leg of the U.S. nuclear deterrent. Their focus is on developing and delivering an integrated weapon system that will meet the combatant commander’s current requirements, while having the adaptability to affordably address changing technology and emerging threats through 2075.

In the early 1970s the Minuteman III first became operational. While certain components and subsystems have been upgraded through the years, most of the fundamental infrastructure in use today is the original equipment supporting more than 50 years of continuous operation. We’re honored to be a part of a team helping to modernize this piece of our nation’s history as a way to protect our country’s future.

Bechtel will provide launch infrastructure design and construction as part of the program’s Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase. 

Minuteman III test launch soars through the sky
Digital rendering of the Minuteman III launch infrastructure
Construction of the original launch area
Soldiers working on the Missile Alert Facility
A soldier monitoring the surroundings of the GBSD silo

The program begins immediately and is scheduled to last 8 ½ years. Bechtel’s work will take place in Roy, Utah; Reston, Virginia; and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Development of test and training facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; Hill Air Force Base, Utah; and other locations will provide valuable feedback on design and installation methods for use at the operational silos and launch centers.

Bechtel’s recent experience in the sector includes delivery of launch silos and infrastructure in Alaska, California, and the Marshall Islands for the U.S. missile defense system known as Ground-based Midcourse Defense. Bechtel also constructed launch complexes for NASA and the Air Force and is now working to provide the NASA mobile launcher that will send astronauts to the moon and eventually Mars.

The GBSD team includes Aerojet Rocketdyne, Bechtel, Clark Construction, Collins Aerospace, General Dynamics, HDT Global, Honeywell, Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Textron Systems, as well as hundreds of small and medium-sized companies from across the defense, engineering and construction industries. Overall, the GBSD program will involve over 10,000 people across the U.S. directly working on this vital national security program.

For more information, please visit the U.S. Air Force’s page on GBSD.