Air Force Space Command is seeking ideas for the next generation of land-based strategic deterrence. The December 2001 Nuclear Posture Review, completed by the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy, estimates that the existing system of Minuteman III missiles will need to be replaced in the 2018 timeframe.
AFSPC is in the first stage of determining what the next generation’s system will be – starting with a call for concepts and ideas. Requests For Information (RFI) have gone out to industry, federally funded research and development centers, Air Force laboratories and product centers to propose concepts on what the new system may look like and how it could be operated, maintained and secured utilizing 21st century technologies.
The RFIs for the Land-based Strategic Deterrent are soliciting inputs for three separate areas: delivery vehicle, security, and command, control, communications and computer (C4) systems.
The next generation of deterrent system may be based on the existing systems in place, but an Analysis of Alternatives team will also examine any innovative concepts received in response to the RFIs.
