U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project

This project was completed in August 1998 and resulted in the book Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940 edited by Stephen I. Schwartz. These project pages are only occassionally updated and should be considered historical.

Minuteman Missile Silo Under Construction

Workers preparing to install a reinforced steel silo liner inside Minuteman silo B-11 at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, June 18, 1962

Unlike earlier aboveground ICBM facilities, all 1,000 Minuteman silos were designed to survive anything but a direct hit. Inserted into each silo was a 62 foot (18.9 meter) reinforced steel liner that was subsequently covered by poured concrete, forming the external silo wall. The missiles were then inserted into the liner and the silos covered by a heavy steel and concrete door.