https://www.airandspaceforces.com/lawmakers-fresh-scrutiny-air-force-missile-community-cancer/

"Airmen from the 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron prepare a reentry system for removal from a launch facility, Feb. 2, 2018, at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Braydon Williams"

July 30, 2025 | By Chris Gordon

Quote:

The Senate version of the draft 2026 National Defense Authorization Act calls for the Air Force to conduct a “deep cleaning” of its Minuteman III launch control centers every five years. There are 45 LCCs—underground crew capsules where Airmen operate ground-based nuclear weapons—spread across Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and Colorado, supporting 450 silos, 400 of which are operational. 

The cleaning would continue until the launch control centers are decommissioned as the new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles replace the Minuteman III fleet in the coming years. Sentinel will have new and fewer underground facilities for Airmen.