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A team from Lockheed Martin will be visiting Minot this month to meet with city officials about the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program to replace Minot Air Force Base's Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic system.
Minot AFB's 91st Missile Wing, one of the Air Force's three ICBM wings, is responsible for operating, maintaining and securing a fleet of 150 Minuteman III missiles located in underground launch facilities scattered across the northwest and north central part of the state. The missile complex stretches over 8,500 square miles or about 12 percent of North Dakota, according to Air Force information.
Lockheed Martin submitted its proposal recently for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent competition to replace the Minuteman III system. The program will have a significant local impact.
Sydney Owens with Strategic and Missile Defense Systems Communications at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., said the program primarily involves upgrading the missile, communications, launch facilities and launch control centers.
"We understand the vital role that the community plays in supporting the ICBM mission, and at the same time, the critical role the men and women of the Air Force base have in the Minot community. We are beginning the discussion now about how best to work cooperatively going forward," Owens said.
The team will be in Minot to discuss the program and the work that will be done locally if Lockheed Martin wins the contract.
"We submitted our GBSD proposal last month, and we know this will be a tough competition. We take nothing for granted, so we're doing research now and preparing so we are ready to hit the ground running in the event we are selected to move forward," Owens said.
Lockheed Martin's GBSD program office is currently under construction and will open next summer at Hill AFB in Utah. John Karas, vice president and GBSD program manager, currently based in Denver, will lead the team in Utah, Owens said.
The Lockheed Martin team plans to visit Cheyenne, Wyo., in December and Great Falls, Mont., in January to have similar meetings and get to know the communities, Owens said.
F.E. Warren AFB near Cheyenne, Wyo., and Malmstrom AFB, near Great Falls, Mont., are the Air Force's other two Minuteman III ICBM bases.