February 17, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Initial Sentinel ICBM expected by early 2030, Air Force says
Officials say a new Pentagon-controlled manager role helped accelerate the Sentinel timeline.
An undated photo of an LGM-35A Sentinel test booster. U.S. Air Force February 17, 2026 06:18 PM ET Air Force Missiles Congress The troubled Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program will hit a key milestone by year’s end, with hopes to deliver the initial ICBM by the early 2030s, Pentagon and Air Force officials announced Tuesday.In 2024, the Northrop Grumman program to modernize the land-based arm of the nuclear triad went so far over budget that the Pentagon rescinded a 2020 decision to move the program into its engineering and manufacturing development phase.
Program officials said in September 2025 that they hoped to re-enter that phase by mid-2027, but now say they plan to hit that milestone this year. “Leveraging considerable progress over the last 12-18 months, program officials are executing a transformed acquisition strategy paving the way to complete the restructure and achieve a Milestone B decision by the end of 2026, while delivering an initial capability targeted for the early 2030s,” the service said in a Tuesday news release. Air Force officials said successful ground tests, solid rocket motor qualifications, and critical design reviews are examples of much-needed progress since the program triggered a Nunn-McCurdy Act review in 2024.