Air Force’s new intercontinental ballistic missile system has a name: Sentinel

Shown is an illustration of the LGM-35A Sentinel, the Air Force’s newest weapon system known as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent. The new designation, approved by Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, modernizes the intercontinental ballistic missile leg of the Nation’s nuclear triad. (U.S. Air Force illustration)

Air Force conducts second Sentinel static fire test

Published Jan. 12, 2024
Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center Public Affairs

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --

The Air Force and Northrop Grumman conducted a static fire test today for the Stage-2 solid rocket motor of the LGM-35A Sentinel weapon system at the Arnold Engineering and Development Complex, Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee.

This closed chamber test is the second in a series of static fire tests during Sentinel’s development to validate the design and performance of Sentinel's three-stage propulsion system. The Stage-2 SRM is the second largest of Sentinel’s three stages and the second SRM to fire following the missile’s launch.

“This test is just a part of our comprehensive ground and flight test program designed to help us shake down the design as we approach its critical design review. It demonstrates we continue to make progress on modernizing our nation's strategic land-based nuclear deterrent,” said Maj. Gen. John Newberry, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center commander and Air Force program executive officer for strategic systems.

The Air Force plans to replace the fielded Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile with the next-generation Sentinel system currently in development. The Sentinel acquisition program is responsible for the modernization of the land-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad.