Minot base to upgrade nuclear missile codes

Minot base to upgrade nuclear missile codes
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 9, 2008 18:12:20 EST

MINOT, N.D. — Minot Air Force Base officials are upgrading the codes used to operate 150 nuclear missile sites and launch facilities in North Dakota.

Officials say the 91st Space Wing will be the first of the nation’s three intercontinental ballistic missile bases to upgrade its codes.

Col. Marty Whelan, the Minot space wing commander, said the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Cryptography upgrade is a $217 million program for all three ICBM wings. The codes for maintenance and training facilities also will be upgraded, he said.

“The current system in place is the original system that the Minuteman III was built with,” Whelan said.

The Minot Air Force Base oversees 150 ICBM launch facilities and 15 launch control centers.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_minotmissiles_080109/