Congress defense reconciliation includes $1.5 billion for Sentinel risk reduction

Both chambers of congress released a $150 billion defense reconciliation bill over the weekend that includes $1.5 billion for Sentinel risk reduction and $500 million for Minuteman III improvements.

The bill also includes $800 million for accelerated next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) deployment and development. Sentinel, an ICBM currently being built by Northrop Grumman, will eventually replace the Boeing-made Minuteman III as the Air Force’s silo-based, nuclear-armed ICBM sometime in the 2030s while the Minuteman III is still commissioned.

All of these line items are part of a total of $13 billion appropriated to nuclear deterrence and modernization efforts, according to the bill’s overview.

Senate Armed Service Committee chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and House counterpart Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) revealed the legislation Sunday in what they said was meant to “achieve President Trump’s Peace Through Strength agenda.” The House committee will mark up the bill Tuesday in an effort to specify defense debt limits for fiscal 2025 and for fiscals 2025-2034.