Prohibit the Reduction of ICBMs

Dear Chairman Reed, Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Wicker, and Ranking Member Smith:

To ensure the security of the United States and our allies, it is crucial that our arsenal of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (“ICBMs”) remains at the forefront of our national defense strategy. In a world of growing geopolitical tensions and emerging threats, reducing our ICBM force would weaken the deterrence that has safeguarded peace for decades. Additionally, with the rapidly approaching end of the Minuteman III’s service life, it’s critical to guarantee a timely transition to the Sentinel program. Therefore, the Air & Space Forces Association (“AFA”) strongly supports the following provisions included in the respective marks of the Senate Armed Services Committee (“SASC”) and House Armed Services Committee’s (“HASC”) FY’25 National Defense Authorization bill (“NDAA”) which will prohibit the reduction of ICBMs, thus ensuring the readiness of the ground-based leg of the nuclear triad and preserving the deterrence capabilities of our country.

H.R. 8070

Sec. 1624 – Prohibition on Reduction of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles of the United States.

• (a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection (b), none of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2025 for the Department of Defense may be obligated or expended for the following, and the Department may not otherwise take any action to do the following:
  • (1) Reduce, or prepare to reduce, the responsiveness or alert level of the intercontinental balli stic missiles of the United States.
  • (2) Reduce, or prepare to reduce, the quantity of deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles of the United States to a number less than 400.
• (b) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply to any of the following activities:
  • (1) The maintenance or sustainment of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
  • (2) Ensuring the safety, security, or reliability of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
  • (3) Facilitating the transition from the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile to the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (previously referred to as the ‘‘ground-based strategic deterrent weapon’’).

S.4638

Sec. 1515. – Prohibition on the Reduction of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles of the United States.

• (a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection (b), none of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act for fiscal year 2025 for the Department of Defense may be obligated or expended for the following, and the Department may not otherwise take any action to do the following:
  • (1) Reduce, or prepare to reduce, the responsiveness or alert level of the intercontinental ballistic missiles of the United States.
  • (2) Reduce, or prepare to reduce, the quantity of deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles of the United States to a number less than 400.
• (b) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply to any of the following activities:
  • (1) The maintenance or sustainment of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
  • (2) Ensuring the safety, security, or reliability of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
  • (3) Facilitating the transition from the LGM30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile to the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile.

Recently, HASC Ranking Member Smith asked Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall, “…what is the true value of the land-based leg of the triad?” Secretary Kendall responded in sworn testimony by stating, “…You cannot put a value price on that. The ICBM leg of the triad is the most responsive leg of the triad.” … The Secretary further said, “[t]he risk of a preemptive surprise attack that decapitates us or takes out our nuclear force becomes much higher, if there’s no ICBM leg. If the stealth of the submarines is broken and the bombers are caught on their bases, you don’t have anything left.” “We’ve looked at tons of scenarios. We’ve looked at all sorts of different opportunities and possibilities. The triad provides the most stable configuration. And it would be, I think, a lot of risk, more than we should accept….”

As our adversaries continue to develop new technologies and capabilities, including the rapid proliferation of nuclear weapons, keeping the number of ICBMs in our arsenal stout puts the United States in an advantageous position. Reductions in this area could invite unnecessary risks and send the wrong signals to adversaries at a time when maintaining a strong defense is more important than ever. Furthermore, upgrading this critical system ensures that the United States maintains a credible deterrent well into the future, as without modernization, the aging missile systems could become less reliable, leaving the nation, and our allies, vulnerable to evolving threats.

Now is the time for the Congress to reaffirm its decades long bipartisan support for the foundational element of our nuclear defense: the ground-based leg of our nuclear triad. Therefore, the Air & Space Forces Association strongly supports the inclusion of these provisions in the final version of the NDAA to prohibit the reduction of ICBMs and continue to preserve this critical component of our national security.

Thank you for your attention to this vital matter. We appreciate your continued dedication to our national security and defense.

Sincerely,