Speaking to the Cheyenne Rotary Club on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney says she is focusing on her work with the Armed Services Committee to secure the installation of the nation’s first Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program at F.E. Warren AFB.

“I am very much focused on a lot of the work and effort that’s underway for me on the Armed Service Committee,” she said. “Working to make sure that Warren Air Force Base that continues to be the first place that we are going to see the deployment of the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent missiles.”

The USAF is replacing its current weapon system called the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) that was first deployed in 1970.  The GBSD is more than just missiles; it is an entirely new system that utilizes existing silos.  This $100 billion replacement for nuclear missiles begun under President Barack Obama.  In September, Northrop Grumman Corp. was selected for the Engineering and Development (EMD) phase of GBSD.

On Tues., Northrop Grumman successfully conducted its first major design review event for the GBSD engineering and design baseline review.  This review provides an assessment of the current technical baseline, including user requirements, program data, and configuration elements. It is the first step in transitioning ownership of the allocated baseline to the government.

“Achieving this milestone demonstrates our team’s commitment to deliver a safe, secure and reliable system to the U.S. Air Force on-schedule and on-budget,” said Steve Lunny, vice president, GBSD program, Northrop Grumman. “Our team is applying a digital engineering approach that will produce a modern strategic deterrent capability for our nation and its allies.”

While construction at F.E. Warren isn’t scheduled to begin until 2023, updating our nuclear deterrence is critical to national security.  In January, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Belkin said that Iran could be weeks away from having enough material for a nuclear bomb.  After Iran announced, it was enriching uranium at 20% purity, a breach of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.

While that might be a stretch, the International Atomic Energy Agency told members this month that Iran has begun producing uranium metal.  In December, Iran said to the agency that it planned on producing uranium metal for civilian purposes.  Still, the production would require months to install the necessary equipment to produce the powder from which uranium is made.

Facing the same issues as former President Donald Trump, in an interview with CBS Evening News’s Norah O’Donnell, President Joe Biden said that the U.S. would not be lifting sanctions on Iran until they stop enriching uranium.

Progressive lawmakers are lobbying the Biden administration to pause in the GBSD program and to consider future arms agreements that might require fewer ICMB’s. Biden’s national security team is focusing on an agenda of negotiating new arms treaties and scaling back nuclear weapons.  Members from the previous administration feel that these progressives are in for a rude awakening when they learn of the real-world threat that other countries pose to the U.S.

Biden has already come under criticism for his fast action of agreeing to extend the New Strategic Arms Treaty with Russia.  Ambassador Marshall Billingslea, Trumps’ chief arms control negotiator, spoke to Politico about Bidens’ decision.

“They gave away all of the leverage that they had in order to get additional arms control done,” he said. “It’s not at all clear to me what further interest the Russians have in negotiating anything with the Biden administration.”

Russian support of the Iran deal was vital to the Obama administration.  With the Biden administration’s top foreign policy concern being to return to the Iran deal, Russia has no incentive back Biden’s play.

This week, Iranian state media reported that Iran and Russia are conducting a joint naval drill in the northern part of the Indian Ocean to “enhance the security” of maritime trade, further cementing Russia and Iran’s close relationship.

While Cheney is working on securing the GBSD program at F.E. Warren, the Biden administration just might be working on putting a lid on our national defense system.