By Mike Stone WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The replacement for the ground-based U.S. nuclear arsenal anchored by the Minuteman III has officially busted through its $95.8 billion budget due to the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, the Air Force said on Thursday. The Air Force is notifying Congress that the program, being designed and managed by Northrop Grumman Corp, is now at least 37% over a pre-pandemic cost estimate finalized in September 2020, Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, told Reuters in an interview. Program changes, such as maki…