The United States said on Wednesday it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a previously announced operation to avoid escalating tensions with Russia during the conflict in Ukraine.
The unarmed Minuteman III was launched at 01:13 (05:13 GMT) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on September 7 and traveled approximately 6,760 km over the Pacific Ocean before sinking into the sea near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. . Air Force in a statement.
“This test launch is part of routine and periodic activities designed to demonstrate that the United States’ nuclear deterrent is safe, reliable and effective,” the statement said. Said.
“This test is not the result of current world events,” he added.
The United States does not usually announce ICBM missile tests in advance, but the latest test of the Minuteman III, a missile equipped with a warhead capable of carrying nuclear bombs in times of war, had to be postponed twice due to international tensions. . . .
The expedition, originally scheduled for March, was initially delayed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, and Washington feared Moscow would use this test to spread the conflict to other countries.
And it was postponed for a second time in early August after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, an island claimed by Beijing.
The test was finally completed successfully on August 16.
Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder said at a news conference Tuesday that it was a coincidence that the two tests were conducted so closely together.
In service for 50 years, the Minuteman III is currently the only land-based ICBM in the US nuclear arsenal.
The missiles are located in silos at three military bases: Wyoming, North Dakota, and Montana.
The US arsenal also includes submarine-launched Trident ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons carried by strategic bombers.
source: Noticias
