The community got a definitive answer as to whether the Air Force would ever reactivate the runway at Malmstrom Air Force Base for a new flying mission during the Jan. 25 townhall about the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile project.

“I’m sorry, no,” Malmstrom commander Col. Barry Little said in response to a question about reopening the runway.

The Air Force has been clear for years that the runway at Malmstrom Air Force Base would not be reactivated for a new flying mission and that has been reported by The Electric on multiple occasions.

Little discussed the other construction projects on base that included dismantling more of the runway since it won’t be used anymore during the Jan. 2 City Commission meeting.

Multiple major projects ongoing at Malmstrom; preparing for Sentinel

The Electric reported Little’s comments on Jan. 5, which included him telling commissioners that the work so far included removing the runway lights and some of the infrastructure from the airfield “because the Air Force does not intend to reactivate that airfield.”

Air Force and Northrop Grumman officials were in Great Falls last week to talk about the upcoming Sentinel missile upgrade project.

About 375 people attended the townhall Jan. 25 at Great Falls High, Air Force officials said.

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The Air Force is replacing the aging Minuteman III ICBM system with Sentinel.

ICBMs are the land-based component of the U.S. nuclear triad, which also includes nuclear submarines and bomber planes. Those legs of the triad are also undergoing modernization programs.

In mid-January, Air Force officials informed Congress that the Sentinel program is now estimated to cost at least 37 percent more than the projected $96 billion, which triggered the Nunn-McCurdy Act, meaning Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has to certify the program to stop it from being canceled.

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The new estimate sent to Congress in mid-January put the cost of Sentinel to as much as $162 million per missile when calculated in 2020 dollars, up from $118 million each, according to a Bloomberg report.

The total cost estimate is now $131.5 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Components and subsystems of Minuteman have been upgraded since it first became operational in the early 1970s but most of the fundamental infrastructure uses the original equipment, according to the Air Force.

The land-based nuclear deterrent ICBM system includes 400 deployed missiles, 450 silos and more than 600 facilities across nearly 40,000 square miles over six states, three operational wings and a test location.

According to the Sentinel office, field work on the weapon system replacement won’t start until 2030 at the earliest.

Those timelines are shifting the panel said, in part because of the federal review of the cost overruns.

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At Malmstrom, there will be construction and renovation on base to support Sentinel command, communications, maintenance, training and storage facilities, as well as construction of new launch facilities in the missile field, according to AFGSC.

Steve Adorisio, deputy chief of the program integration office at Malmstrom, told the townhall audience that about nine projects are planned on base, including an integrated command center, missile handling facility, transporter admin facility, consolidated maintenance facility and the weapons generation facility.

He said there will be concurrent projects and a new commercial gate on Highway 87 to deconflict construction traffic with the security convoys.

Adorisio said that the facilities have to sustain Sentinel through 2075 and Malmstrom’s facilities are in design planning currently.

Construction on Sentinel project set to begin

Taylor Walton, Sentinel real estate acquisition lead, based at Hill AFB, said that the Army Corps of Engineers will be negotiating transactions with private landowners and the Air Force will negotiate agreements with public entities.

Walton said that agreements under consideration are temporary rights to access and to construct, re-use of existing utility easements, new easements and acquiring property for new tower sites.

He said the Air Force is evaluating where new utility lines need to be installed and the associated easements need to be in place.

For temporary access sites, property will be restored to preconstruction condition, Walton said.

He said the Air Force will acquire 32 new sites about five acres in size to support 32 new 300-foot towers and associated access roads.

Off base, the project includes renovating 15 missile alert facilities and 150 launch facilities and constructing the new communication towers, according to AFGSC.

It will require acquiring easements to install and maintain 1,277 miles of new utility corridors; and install and maintain additional utilities within 1,750 miles of existing utility corridors.

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For Malmstrom, the project includes establishing two workforce hubs, one in Great Falls and one in Lewistown.

Each hub will be 50-60 acres with 2,500 to 3,000 residents during peaks for three to five years, according to AFGSC.

The hubs will have their own dining facility, gym, recreation center and be completely contained within a fenced area. Northrop Grumman, the contractor, will provide security, patrol the area and control access, according to Malmstrom.

The Air Force will also establish construction laydown/staging areas in Augusta, Denton, Judith Gap, Lewistown, Stanford, Vaughn and Winifred.

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Those areas will be about 13 acres in size and in place for three to five years, according to AFGSC.

The Air Force contractor will coordinate with local governments before selecting sites for the temporary facilities and obtain permits as necessary to meet local zoning requirements.

Matt Dillow from Northrop Grumman, said that the workforce hub in Great Falls will have up to 3,000 workers. They’ll hire some locally, but will bring in others who will live at the hub and don’t tend to bring families, so they don’t anticipate much impact to school districts, Dillow said.

He said the hubs will also have their own basic healthcare clinics.

One audience member asked if the Sentinel project would start an arms race.

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Brig. Gen. Colin Connor, director of ICBM modernization with the site activation task force of Air Force Global Strike Command in Louisiana, said that they’re not building additional ICBMs, just replacing what currently exists and are adhering to existing nuclear arms treaties. Both Russia and China have been modernizing their nuclear forces in recent years.

A woman in the audience spoke about the homeless population in Great Falls and asked if the military would leave the workforce hub in place after the Sentinel project to house the homeless if the community’ social service agencies would provide support services.

Dillow said that once a project is complete, the disposition of the workforce hub can go a few ways. Depending on how it was acquired and the location, the hub can be returned to it’s original condition or the Air Force and local community can come up with a mutually agreeable use for the property.

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Dillow said that Northrop’s primary construction contractor is Bechtel. He said they’re not at the point yet to be sourcing labor and there are federal labor laws they have to follow, but will work with local contractors and companies as possible.

Asked how landowners will be compensated for property and loss during construction, Walton said that acquisition lawyers are well versed in the process and will take crops and land production into consideration for valuations and offers to property owners.

In terms of taking care of public roads that get heavier wear during the construction project, Walton said that their working with Northrop to evaluate and survey the roads their using during construction activities and work with entities who own the roads to maintain those roads.

Sentinel missile system completes another test

Walton said they’re probably several year away to be able to start talking to municipalities about maintaining public roads.

The Sentinel project is progressing and on Jan. 12, the Air Force and Northrop Grumman conducted a static fire test for the Stage 2-solid rocket motor for the weapon system in Tennessee.

This closed chamber test is the second in a series of static fire tests during Sentinel’s development to validate the design and performance of Sentinel’s three-stage propulsion system. The Stage-2 SRM is the second largest of Sentinel’s three stages and the second SRM to fire following the missile’s launch, according to a release from AFGSC.

Walter Schweitzer asked the officials if they were committed not to force legislation to stop wind farms near missile bases as a wind company opted not to do business with him due to his property’s proximity to missile sites.

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Little, Malmstrom’s commander, said that he’s had a lot of conversations about wind farms during his career.

He said the wind turbines pose a safety risk to the helicopters the Air Force uses for security and transport operations in the missile field.

Little said they have fixed locations they have to get in and out of quickly and the wind turbines create risk for those helicopters and crews.

Little said the Air Force supports economic development and renewable energy, but want to protect their security forces maneuvering in the missile field.

Last year, the Air Force asked Congress to establish a two-mile buffer zone around missile sites.

City Commissioner Rick Tryon said he was concerned about the impact of the workforce hub on local public safety.

He asked the panel if there would be resources from the federal government for public safety when the workforce hubs are operating.

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Bartholomew said that Kimball, Neb. is the first workforce hub for the F.E. Warren AFB Sentinel project and they’re engaging early so communities know the scale and scope of what’s coming so they can prepare.

Connor said that the security jurisdiction for the workforce hubs will depend on their location and how they’re acquired.

He said they’d learn from the first Sentinel project at F.E. Warren and use that experience as a baseline for the project at Malmstrom then Minot in North Dakota.

For questions regarding the Sentinel project, send them to AFGSC.Sentinel.Hotline@us.af.mil, or call the Sentinel Hotline at 406-731-2427.