The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center has held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of its new Software Mission Assurance Center, which will house software development efforts in support of the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program.
Located at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, the center will foster collaboration between government and contractor software developers to upgrade and build products using modern technologies and methods, the Air Force Materiel Command said last week.
AFNWC officials said the facility “will be the first-of-its-kind” and will maintain Sentinel’s modular architecture throughout its full lifecycle.
Sentinel, formerly known as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent system, will replace the Minuteman III ICBM system to help modernize the land-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad.
Northrop Grumman is currently building the weapon system under a potential $13.3 billion engineering and manufacturing development contract awarded in September 2020.
