02.15.25

Hoeven at MAFB with Air Force Vice Chief of Staff to Secure Support for Upgraded Cruise Missile Facilities, Concurrent Construction of Sentinel Program

MINOT, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven and Gen. James Slife, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, today reviewed efforts to modernize the dual-nuclear mission at Minot Air Force Base. Hoeven and Slife toured the base’s facilities and met with local and military leaders to discuss and see firsthand the importance of:

  • Accelerating the development of the Sentinel program, and concurrently constructing facilities at all three missile bases to keep the programs on track and reduce costs.
  • Investing in upgrades to the base’s Weapons Storage Area and mission planning facilities to ensure the base can operate the new Long Range Standoff (LRSO) cruise missile. The Air Force expects to operate the new missile in the early 2030s.

“Minot Air Force Base is the only dual nuclear base in the nation,” said Hoeven. “We’ve made important investments in upgrading and modernizing our nuclear forces and we appreciate General Slife visiting Minot Air Force Base to see the importance of these projects firsthand. Our nuclear forces are a vital deterrent to our adversaries and we need to keep our modernization efforts moving forward. That’s why we made a strong case for the Air Force to budget for upgraded facilities that will ensure Minot can operate the next nuclear cruise missile as soon as it is fully developed. At the same time, we continue making the case for the Air Force to keep the Sentinel program on track by concurrently building infrastructure at Minot and the other two missile bases. This will help reduce costs on this vital defense asset.”

As a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, Hoeven has been working to:

  • Accelerate the schedule for deploying the Sentinel by:
    • Identifying additional cost savings to address increased construction costs.
    • Pushing for concurrent construction of facilities at all three missile bases with officials at the Department of Defense (DoD) and Northrop Grumman.
  • Secure the Air Force’s commitment to budget and begin work on facilities for the LRSO carried on the B-52.
    • Hoeven authored a provision in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Military Construction bill to help ensure Minot has the facilities needed to operate and maintain the new LRSO missile, which will be carried on the B-52, as soon as the weapon is ready to enter service.

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