The US is currently planning on replacing the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, but until recently the Pentagon refused to release the total projected cost. Now the figures are public, and they are enourmous.
According to the Associated Press, the costs for just the missiles is estimated at $263.9 billion through the lifecycle of the bombs and into the 2070s. Yet, this does not consider the fact that eveyr few years the price tag increases by billions, nor the anticipated costs of the new warheads.
This also doesn’t consider the costs, for example of a US$ 505 million contract awarded in September 2018 to a subsidiary of BWX Technologies for activities described by the US government to “provide a reliable and economical source of unobligated enriched uranium”, free from peaceful use restrictions, until at least 2025.4
Companies like Aerojet Rocketdyne are also involved in the current Minuteman III system. There are 400 Minuteman III currently deployed in the US arsenal and they are expected to stay active until 2030, these missiles are able to carry the W78 and W87 warheads. 12
While the Northrop Grumman contracts get a great deal of attention, it is important to also consider the contracts related to laboratories, like the one Honeywell International has for Sandia Labs, which is where the warhead and missile combine to make increasingly destructive and destabilising weapons.