Air Force Consolidates Missile Program Management Offices

The Air Force is making several changes as it seeks to replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile program after the service branch canceled a major contract related to it.

The $12 billion Integration Support Contract 2.0 has been a battle between Guidehouse and the current incumbent, BAE Systems. The Air Force has tried to award the contract twice, and protesters have successfully canceled it both times.

Following the second protest, the Air Force decided in August to cancel the ISC 2.0 contract and start over.

An Air Force spokesman said the RFP no longer met the program’s requirements. A new request for proposals is being developed.

The ISC 2.0 contract was to provide maintenance services for Minuteman III and support for the deployment of the new Sentinel missile. The 18-year contract was to cover services such as cybersecurity, digital engineering, model-based systems engineering and change management.

However, bigger changes are afoot, as the Air Force announced it was merging the two directorates that oversaw missile programs.

It is important to understand that the Sentinel missile will replace the Minuteman III, and the Air Force had one direction for Sentinel and another for Minuteman.

The merged organization is now called the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Systems Directorate. Under this umbrella are Sentinel and Minuteman III.

Brigadier General William Rogers was appointed head of the new group.

“Putting our ICBM programs under one leadership will help streamline processes and improve our coordination with our nuclear industry partners,” he said in an Aug. 27 statement.

The new organization also addresses leadership issues the Air Force has seen with Sentinel. In June, the branch fired Sentinel Systems Director Charles Clegg for failing to follow “organizational procedures.”

As the Air Force develops its replacement for ISC 2.0, the current ISC 1.0 contract continues with BAE as the primary supplier.

There is no public timetable for a new contract, an Air Force spokesman said.