U.S. Dismantles Last Peacekeeper Silo

The U.S. has dismantled the last Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile silo as dictated by the New START Treaty, according to a Tweet yesterday by the Bureau for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance (AVC). New START requires the dismantlement of 50 Peacekeeper launch facilities at F.E. Warren AFB and one Peacekeeper test launch facility at Vandenberg AFB. An AVC spokesperson told Weapons Complex Morning Briefing in an email that the silo was physically eliminated on Dec. 19. Under the treaty, destroyed facilities must remain open for a 60-day period following dismantlement of the headworks to allow Russia to confirm that the launch facility has been demolished. On Feb. 18, the 60-day observation period for the Vandenberg site ended, and the silo was marked as eliminated under terms of the treaty. The U.S. deployed Peacekeepers—each capable of carrying 10 warheads—from 1986 to 2005.