HELENA — Montana plays a big role in the country's nuclear defense network, with around 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos for the Minuteman III system located here.
On Friday, nuclear expert Matt Korda met with Montana journalists to discuss the next generation of land-based nuclear arms.
Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls will continue to play a key role in the future of nuclear defense as the new Sentinel missiles are installed to replace the Minuteman system.
The Sentinel Missile System aims to modernize nuclear capabilities but has faced significant budget overruns and delays.
The project will bring two new large workforce hubs to Great Falls and Lewistown.
"Those are going to have impacts on folks in these different communities, so we are going to see that taxpayers are going to be asked to pay a lot more on this program because it is at this moment 81 percent over budget in terms of acquisition fees," Korda says. "That is really substantial."
Another impact in the coming decades will be on landowners where the missile sites are located, such as temporary construction and road access easements, and extended temporary perimeters around the sites to ensure the safety and security of those locations.
