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  "description": "South Dakota had 15 launch control facilities and 150 missile silos after 1963. Do any remain?",
  "path": "/fact-brief-sd-nuclear-missile-locations-united-states/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-10T10:00:07.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.sdnewswatch.org",
  "tags": [
    "South Dakota News Watch Quiz - GigafactGigafact",
    "__this one.__",
    "_Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991_",
    "_Minuteman Missile_",
    "_Transparency in the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Stockpile_",
    "_United States nuclear weapons, 2021_",
    "**South Dakota News Watch**",
    "**Gigafact**",
    "**South Dakota News Watch Tipline**",
    "_Gigafact_",
    "Donate",
    "Share your thoughts on this story",
    "__sdnewswatch.org__",
    "__sign up for an email__"
  ],
  "textContent": "## No.\n\nThe United States has thousands of nuclear missiles spread out across the country, but there haven’t been any in South Dakota since the early 1990s.\n\nThere were 15 launch control facilities for 150 Minuteman missile silos in western South Dakota in the region of Ellsworth Air Force Base starting in 1963.\n\nSouth Dakota News Watch Quiz - GigafactGigafact\n\nAmid Cold War arms-reduction efforts and the START I treaty with Russia, the United States had those nuclear weapons removed and the launch control facilities destroyed rather than upgrade the Minuteman missiles. A launch control center and a silo remain at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site near Phillip.\n\nThe United States reported its nuclear stockpile was at 3,748 warheads as of September 2023.\n\nToday, 400 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles remain deployed near air bases in North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana, with missile fields extending into parts of Colorado and Nebraska.\n\n_This fact brief responds to conversations such as_ __this one.__\n\n### **Sources**\n\nNational Park Service, _Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991_\n\nNational Park Service, _Minuteman Missile_\n\nNational Nuclear Security Administration, _Transparency in the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Stockpile_\n\nBulletin of the Atomic Scientists, _United States nuclear weapons, 2021_\n\n* * *\n\n**South Dakota News Watch** partners with **Gigafact** to publish fact briefs that refute or confirm a claim with supporting information and additional evidence and context. Send questions or feedback to **factbrief@sdnewswatch.org**. Submit a question for us to answer on the **South Dakota News Watch Tipline**. partners with _Gigafact_ to publish fact briefs that refute or confirm a claim with supporting information and additional evidence and context.\n\n****Support fact briefs.**** Help us fight misinformation by supporting fact briefs that refute or confirm a claim with supporting information and additional evidence and context.\n\n Donate \n\nShare your thoughts on this story\n\n _This story was produced by**South Dakota News Watch** , an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at ___sdnewswatch.org__ _and_ __sign up for an email__ _to get stories when they're published.**Contact Michael Klinski** at michael.klinski@sdnewswatch.org._",
  "title": "Fact brief: Are any nuclear missiles stored in South Dakota?",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-10T10:00:08.544Z"
}