National Defense Strategy includes plans to end two nuclear missile programs

Great Falls, Montana – Many people are wondering what effect the Pentagon’s decision to eliminate nuclear missile programs amid Russian hostility will have on Malmstrom Air Force Base given that the Department of Defense (DoD) has made its declassified National Defense Strategy (NDS) publicly available (MAFB).

According to the Air Force Global Strike Command, the quick answer to that is no, MAFB won’t be affected.

The NDS outlines the DoD’s future course in what the president refers to as a “decisive decade.”

The Nuclear Posture Review and its missile defense doctrine are both included in the 80-page NDS.

According to NPR, the B-83 1 Gravity Bomb will be retired by the United States due to growing constraints on its capabilities and escalating maintenance costs.

In addition to the B-83-1 Gravity Bomb, they also intend to end the Nuclear-Armed Sea Launched Cruise Missile Program, claiming that the W76-2, a compact tactical nuclear weapon, has rendered it no longer required.

The Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles are located in MAFB, which spans an area of 13,800 square miles in the state.

These modifications have no effect on MAFB because they lack the necessary aircraft to transport the B-83-1 Gravity Bomb or the necessary submarines to launch Sea Launched Cruise Missiles.