WASHINGTON, July 6 The US Department of Defense will announce a decision on July 9 on the future of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) development program, which could not be ruled out due to delays and rising costs, they said at the Pentagon.
«»The Department will announce its decision regarding the future of the Sentinel program once the (evaluation — ed.) process is completed and we have fulfilled our obligations to Congress. We expect a decision to be made on or about July 9, 2024,» the agency was told in the department. 
Representative The Pentagon added that at this time the department is not ready to provide additional information about the upcoming decision.
Earlier, the US Air Force removed the head of the Sentinel ICBM project, Colonel Charles Clagg, for “loss of trust,” Bloomberg reported, citing a statement from the department.
In May, US Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Logistics William LaPlante said the Pentagon was not ruling out the possibility of canceling or making changes to the Sentinel ICBM program. As Laplante explained, the Pentagon is conducting an analysis of the ongoing implementation of the Sentinel program and, by July 2024, intends to formulate a position on “fundamental questions that need to be answered.”
At the end of March, Defense One, citing documents from the US Air Force and a department representative, reported that the first tests of Sentinel were postponed until February 2026 due to delays in the supply of components, as well as increased costs for the project, although previously planned, that the first test will take place in December 2023.