MX Missiles to Be Placed on Trains, Kept in 6 States
The Air Force announced Wednesday that 50 MX nuclear missiles will be removed from underground silos in Wyoming and placed on trains in six states--Louisiana, Texas, Washington, North Dakota, Arkansas and Michigan.
The announcement represents the Bush Administration’s commitment to push ahead with plans to modernize the nation’s strategic nuclear missile force, even amid projections of Pentagon belt-tightening, heightened prospects for arms-control agreements and sweeping changes in the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies.
The 50 missiles--dubbed the “Peacekeeper” by former President Ronald Reagan--will be placed on 25 trains, each with two MX missiles aboard. The trains will be kept on six Air Force bases and moved onto civilian railroad tracks in time of crisis.
The Bush Administration has struggled, as the Reagan Administration did, to develop a plan for adding a mobile nuclear missile to America’s arsenal. The idea is to make it difficult for the Soviet Union to target U.S. forces and thus deter the Soviets from even considering a first-strike attack.
Earlier this year, President Bush opted to move forward with two mobile intercontinental ballistic missile systems by putting the 10-warhead MX on trains while also building the smaller, truck-based Midgetman.
The Pentagon said the trains will be housed at the following Air Force bases: Barksdale in Louisiana, Dyess in Texas, Fairchild in Washington, Grand Forks in North Dakota, Little Rock in Arkansas and Wurtsmith in Michigan.
Ten bases had been under consideration.
The Air Force did not indicate how many of the missiles would be at any particular site.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
