Over the course of my career in the United States Air Force, I learned that peace is maintained through strength. As a fighter pilot, combat veteran of the Gulf War, and later as an adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard, I know that lesson is especially relevant today. 

The United States currently faces the most complex strategic environment in decades. China is rapidly expanding its military capabilities, including its nuclear arsenal, which it aims to increase to 1,000 warheads by 2030. Russia remains a nuclear power willing to use coercion and instability as instruments of statecraft. Regional conflicts such as the one in Iran demonstrate the continued need for resolute nonproliferation policies and strategic deterrence.

It’s time for America to pick up the pace. 

For over 60 years, we have relied on our nuclear triad to keep the peace. This triad consists of air-delivered nuclear bombs, submarine-launched missiles, and hundreds of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in the great plains. Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, each part of the triad still serves its own unique purpose. However, our military, in cooperation with military contractors, has been upgrading each leg of the triad and will continue to do so over the next decade. This includes the active production of the B-21 bomber, the new Columbia class of submarines, and the Sentinel ICBMs. 

The land-based leg of the nuclear triad is operated by the Air Force and has served as a critical pillar of deterrence since John F. Kennedy was president. But the missiles, called the Minuteman III, were built for another era. They have performed with extraordinary reliability, but no military capability can be extended indefinitely without increasing operational and strategic risk. 

The Sentinel program, led by Northrop Grumman in collaboration with the Air Force, will provide new missiles, new launch silos, and new command architecture to modernize our land-based deterrent. A vast network of manufacturers across the country are working to build this critical system, sustaining thousands of jobs and generating billions in economic impact. While doing it, they’re ensuring that the United States retains its place on the world stage as a guardian of peace and a pillar of strength. 

As a veteran of the Air Force, I view this modernization as a strategic imperative. We must maintain a credible deterrent and exceed the modernization efforts of our adversaries. 

Arizona is playing a direct role in this effort. Sentinel and its supporting industrial network create more than 1,500 jobs in our state and generate approximately $505 million in economic activity. Those are meaningful economic benefits, but the more important fact is that the work Arizonans are doing is protecting the entire country. 

Sentinel is a critical project that will keep Americans safe for decades to come. Completing this mission is of the utmost importance because our adversaries do not wait. America must remain resolute and continue full steam ahead with its own modernization. 

America has preserved peace through strength for over 70 years. We should not abandon that principle now.

Maj. Gen. Michael T. McGuire is the retired adjutant general of Arizona.