Minuteman / Peacekeeper Launch Facility P-02 (Papa-02 LF), Hillsdale Wyoming

P-02 was one of the quiet places where the Cold War learned to hide in plain sight: a fenced launch facility in the farm and ranch country north of Hillsdale, Wyoming, built first for Minuteman and later modified for Peacekeeper. Unlike the crewed Papa One control site, P-02 was normally unmanned. Its significance came from being one of the ten Papa Flight launch facilities tied to P-01, and later one of the 50 former Minuteman silos that carried the LGM-118A Peacekeeper force at F.E. Warren Air Force Base.

P-02 was a Launch Facility / LF in Papa Flight, F.E. Warren Air Force Base missile field. It was associated with P-01 Missile Alert Facility / Launch Control Center and the 400th Strategic Missile Squadron, later the 400th Missile Squadron, under the 90th Strategic Missile Wing / 90th Missile Wing. The site was originally part of F.E. Warren's LGM-30 Minuteman force, later served in the LGM-30G Minuteman III era, and was then converted for the LGM-118A Peacekeeper.

P-02 is inactive and decommissioned. It is no longer an operational launch facility. No public access to the former launch-facility property was identified.

Site Location and Physical Description

P-02 lay in open agricultural and ranching country northeast of F.E. Warren Air Force Base and north of Hillsdale. The site was part of the dispersed geometry that made Minuteman and Peacekeeper operations different from earlier, more concentrated missile systems. P-01 held the crewed launch-control function; P-02 held one missile in a hardened underground launch facility. The separation between the control site and its assigned launch facilities reduced the chance that one attack could destroy the entire flight.

As a Minuteman/Peacekeeper launch facility, P-02 would have had the basic features typical of an unmanned LF: an access road, security fencing, a launcher closure, a personnel-access feature, underground launch equipment, power and communications connections, and support hardstand/apron features visible at the surface. The exact surviving surface condition after New START elimination is not known

Site History

P-02 was constructed as part of the F.E. Warren Minuteman missile field, a 200-missile deployment spread across Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado. The 90th Strategic Missile Wing was activated on 1 July 1963, and the 400th Strategic Missile Squadron was organized in 1964. Public historic and site-listing sources identify the P-through-T group as the later 400th Squadron / Peacekeeper group.

During the Minuteman period, P-02 was an unmanned launch facility tied to P-01. Missile combat crews served at the associated launch-control center, while maintenance, security, and communications teams visited P-02 as needed. F.E. Warren's early Minuteman force used LGM-30B Minuteman I missiles, and the base's Minuteman I missiles were replaced with LGM-30G Minuteman III between 1973 and 1975. Minuteman III brought a more advanced solid-fueled missile into the same broad dispersed missile-field concept.

The site's distinctive later role came with the Peacekeeper program. After years of MX basing debate, the United States placed the operational Peacekeeper force in modified former Minuteman silos at F.E. Warren. Papa Flight, including P-02, became part of that conversion. Public Air Force sources describe Peacekeeper as the Air Force's most powerful, accurate, and technologically advanced ICBM during its 1986-2005 service life. The first ten Peacekeepers became operational at F.E. Warren in 1986, and by 1988 the Air Force had 50 Peacekeepers in service there. P-02 was one of those converted launch facilities in the 400th Missile Squadron's P-through-T Peacekeeper group.

Peacekeeper used a cold-launch method from modified Minuteman silos: high-pressure steam ejected the missile from the launch tube, and the first-stage solid rocket motor ignited after the missile cleared the silo. Public Air Force data describes the missile as approximately 71 feet tall, weighing about 195,000 pounds, with inertial guidance, a range greater than 6,000 miles, and a payload of up to ten Avco MK-21 reentry vehicles. Those technical details explain why P-02's conversion was not just a missile swap. The launch facility had to support a much larger, heavier, and differently launched weapon system.

The Peacekeeper era ended on 19 September 2005, when the Air Force marked the end of the mission at F.E. Warren. During the ceremony, a missile combat crew officer at Papa One Launch Control Center confirmed that no Peacekeeper ICBMs remained on strategic alert in the 400th Missile Squadron.

Current Status and Site Use

After deactivation, P-02 became part of the broader New START silo-elimination program. In 2011 the Air Force announced environmental review for dismantling deactivated Minuteman III and Peacekeeper missile facilities. The review covered 50 former Peacekeeper launch facilities and five associated missile alert facilities at F.E. Warren. AFCEC stated in 2013 that the deactivated silos would be dismantled by methods such as explosive implosion or excavation/backfill, and that the launch facilities had to remain visible for treaty verification during the dismantlement process plus a post-dismantlement verification period.

F.E. Warren announced in 2013 that all 50 previously deactivated Peacekeeper launch facilities north of Cheyenne would be permanently eliminated under New START, with completion then planned by December 2014. The same announcement stated that the contractor would eliminate the silos by filling them with earth and gravel, and that after elimination the land would become available for purchase through a process beginning with adjacent landowners.

For the full Papa Flight narrative, see P-01 Missile Alert Facility / Launch Control Center

Chronology

• 1963-07-01 The 90th Strategic Missile Wing was activated at F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
• 1964 The 400th Strategic Missile Squadron was organized at F.E. Warren; P-02 belonged to the squadron group later converted for Peacekeeper service.
• 1965 P-02 was part of the operational F.E. Warren Minuteman missile field by the mid-1960s.
• 1973-1975 F.E. Warren's Minuteman I missiles were replaced with LGM-30G Minuteman III.
• 1982-11 President Ronald Reagan renamed the MX missile Peacekeeper.
• 1984-07 Peacekeeper support-facility construction began at F.E. Warren, according to public site-listing history.
• 1986 The first ten Peacekeepers became operational at F.E. Warren.
• 1988 The Air Force had 50 Peacekeeper missiles in service at F.E. Warren; P-02 was one of the former Minuteman launch facilities in the converted 400th Missile Squadron group.
• 2005-09-19 The Peacekeeper mission ended at F.E. Warren; a missile combat crew officer at Papa One Launch Control Center confirmed that no Peacekeeper ICBMs remained on strategic alert in the 400th Missile Squadron.
• 2011-02-05 New START entered into force.
• 2011-11-17 The Air Force published notice of intent to prepare an environmental assessment for Minuteman III and Peacekeeper silo elimination/dismantlement, including 50 Peacekeeper launch facilities and five associated missile alert facilities at F.E. Warren.
• 2013-03-22 AFCEC announced the final environmental assessment and draft finding of no significant impact for dismantling deactivated Minuteman III and Peacekeeper launch facilities under New START.
• 2013-08-23 F.E. Warren announced that 50 previously deactivated Peacekeeper launch facilities north of Cheyenne would be permanently eliminated under New START.
• 2014-12 F.E. Warren's 2013 release identified December 2014 as the planned completion point for eliminating the former Peacekeeper launch facilities north of Cheyenne.
• 2018-02-04 New START required complete dismantlement of covered launch facilities by this date.

Read about the Peacekeeper Missile at F.E. Warren AFB

All Peacekeeper Missile Silo Locations

All Minuteman/Peacekeeper Missile Silo Locations