Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO responded to questions concerning the U.S. strategic nuclear triad. GAO found that: (1) the B-2 program involves the greatest number of unknowns for any weapon system and presents the highest level of cost uncertainty; (2) the Air Force could not justify the Minuteman III modernization program because of the program's high cost, extensive testing needs, and future modifications; (3) the estimated costs for the Minuteman III is $23 billion and $58 billion for the Ohio/D-5 force; (4) the D-5 missile with Mark 5 warheads would be considerably more effective in neutralizing hard targets than the Minuteman III; and (5) the number of U.S. silos surviving a nuclear attack would increase if fratricide and test unrealism were taken into account.