Central ND News

The Senate Armed Services Committee convened a hearing to evaluate Elbridge Colby's nomination for the role of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. This position plays a crucial part in shaping U.S. defense strategies and guiding the Pentagon's policy priorities.

During the session, Senator Kevin Cramer from North Dakota engaged Colby in discussions about the modernization of the nation's nuclear triad and the maintenance of airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

Cramer highlighted North Dakota's extensive history with nuclear deterrence, referencing Minot Air Force Base as a key location with two legs of the nuclear triad—50-year-old Minuteman IIIs and 70-year-old B-52s. "The year I was born, the first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) was invented," he said. "Minot Air Force Base contains and protects a large majority of nuclear material in our arsenal."

Cramer stressed the importance of replacing Minuteman III with Sentinel ICBM to safeguard national security. He asked Colby if he would advise both the President and Congress on maintaining effective deterrence strategies. In response, Colby assured his commitment: “I do commit to advising the support for the ICBM, and the triad, and the land-based leg, and the Sentinel program as well.”

Addressing concerns about ISR capabilities, Cramer noted that recent reductions in legacy airborne ISR platforms by the U.S. Air Force have not been matched by new replacements. He sought Colby's perspective on this issue. Colby affirmed ISR's significance: “I think that airborne ISR is very important, especially for its own reasons, but also because we cannot solely rely on the space-based layer.”