Independent study on extension of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles

(a) Independent study Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall seek to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on extending the life of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles to 2050 or beyond. (b) Staffing (1) Experts The conduct of the study required by subsection (a) shall include input from a wide variety of technical and subject matter experts. (2) Prohibition on certain Air Force employees No member or former member of the Air Force or employee or former employee of the Department of the Air Force who is or was paid for work relating to the Sentinel program may participate in the conduct of the study required by subsection (a). (c) Elements The study required by subsection (a) shall address the following: (1) A comparison of the costs through 2050 of— (A) extending the life of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles; and (B) deploying the Sentinel program. (2) An analysis of opportunities to incorporate technologies into the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile program as part of a service life extension program that could also be incorporated in a possible future Sentinel program, including, at a minimum, opportunities to increase resilience against adversary missile defenses. (3) An analysis of the benefits and risks of incorporating sensors and nondestructive testing methods and technologies to reduce destructive testing requirements and increase the service life and number of Minuteman III missiles through 2050. (4) An analysis and validation of the methods used to estimate the operational service life of Minuteman II and Minuteman III motors, taking into account the test and launch experience of motors retired after the operational service life of such motors in the rocket systems launch program. (5) An analysis of the risks and benefits of alternative methods of estimating the operational service life of Minuteman III motors, such as those methods based on fundamental physical and chemical processes and nondestructive measurements of individual motor properties. (6) An analysis of risks, benefits, and costs of configuring a Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile for deployment in a Minuteman III silo. (7) An analysis of the impacts of the estimated service life of the Minuteman III force associated with decreasing the deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles delivery vehicle force from 400 to 300 or less. (8) An assessment of the extent to which the Columbia class ballistic missile submarines will possess features that will enhance the current invulnerability of ballistic missile submarines of the United States to future antisubmarine warfare threats. (9) An analysis of the extent to which an extension of the life of the Minuteman III missiles would impact the decision of the Russian Federation to target intercontinental ballistic missiles of the United States in a crisis, compared to proceeding with the Sentinel. (10) A best case estimate of what percentage of the strategic forces of the United States would survive a counterforce strike from the Russian Federation, broken down by intercontinental ballistic missiles, ballistic missile submarines, and heavy bomber aircraft. (11) The benefits, risks, and costs of relying on the W–78 warhead for either the Minuteman III or a new Sentinel missile as compared to proceeding with the W–87 life extension. (12) The benefits, risks, and costs of adding additional launchers on submarines or uploading submarine-launched ballistic missiles with additional warheads to compensate for a reduced deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles of the United States. (d) Report required (1) Submission to Department of Defense Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the National Academy of Sciences shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a report containing the results of the study conducted under subsection (a). (2) Submission to Congress Not later than 210 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees the report required by paragraph (1), without change. (3) Form The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. (4) Appropriate congressional committees defined In this subsection, the term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.