WASHINGTON: The United States tested a nuclear-capable ballistic missile on Tuesday after delaying the launch twice to avoid sparking tensions around Ukraine and Taiwan, the military said.
Air Force Global Strike Command launched a Minuteman III unmanned ballistic missile over the Pacific from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California just after midnight.
The missile is a re-entry test vehicle that, in a critical crisis, can be used with a nuclear warhead.
The drive traveled about 4,200 kilometers (6,760 miles) to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the western Pacific.
“This test launch is part of a regular and routine exercise to demonstrate that the United States’ nuclear deterrent is safe, secure, reliable, and effective,” the Air Force said in a statement. “Such tests have been done more than 300 times before, and this test is not based on what is happening in the world now.”
The test was originally scheduled for March but was postponed to avoid escalating tensions surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
It was postponed for the second time in early August as military tensions escalated following the test-fire of several ballistic missiles and ballistic missiles from China in response to the visit of US Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
“As China engages in destructive military exercises around Taiwan, the United States is demonstrating an important nuclear power practice by reducing the risk of speculation and misunderstanding,” the US said. Then White House national security spokesman John Kirby explains the launch.
