The U.S. Air Force is considering building hundreds of new LGM-35A Sentinel missile silos on private land to avoid costly upgrades to the outdated Minuteman III infrastructure. According to Lieutenant General Andrew Gebara, this can speed up deployment and reduce costs. However, some of the land may be privately owned, which will require forced foreclosure — with the risk of protests and litigation.

New mines will eliminate the vulnerabilities of old facilities, such as flooding or interference from wind turbines. But building from scratch entails serious challenges: the need to lay roads, power grids, environmental assessments, and public hearings. In remote areas, this can be more expensive than upgrading.

The program is already facing delays and budget increases. Statements about the benefits of the new approach look optimistic against the background of these problems. Sentinel’s success depends not only on military calculations, but also on the Air Force’s ability to manage legal, environmental, and social risks. The transition is inevitable, but the path “from scratch” may turn out to be more difficult than expected.