LGM-30G Minuteman III

The LGM-30G Minuteman III is the United States' three-stage, solid-propellant, silo-based intercontinental ballistic missile and the sole land-based component of the US nuclear triad.

Overview

The LGM-30G Minuteman III is a silo-launched intercontinental ballistic missile operated exclusively by US Air Force Global Strike Command. It has stood continuous nuclear alert since entering operational service in 1970 and remains the sole land-based component of the US nuclear triad. According to the Federation of American Scientists' 2025 Nuclear Notebook, the force comprises 400 deployed missiles in 450 silos, with the remaining 50 silos maintained in a warm status.

Minuteman III combines three solid-propellant stages with inertial guidance and a single nuclear reentry vehicle. Deployed missiles carry either a 300-kiloton W87 warhead in the Mk21 reentry vehicle or a 335-kiloton W78 in the Mk12A. Although the missile was the first operational ICBM designed to carry multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, the deployed force has been configured with one warhead per missile since 2016.

The system is distributed among the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base and the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base. Its planned replacement, the LGM-35A Sentinel, has experienced substantial cost growth and schedule delays. The US Air Force may consequently have to sustain Minuteman III through 2050, rather than retire it around 2036, according to the US Government Accountability Office.

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