US-China rivalry: America test-fires Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile
- Test shows the US nuclear deterrent is ‘safe, secure, reliable and effective to deter twenty-first century threats and reassure our allies’, USAF says
- ‘Operators delivered an on-time, on-target sortie and provided a reminder of the readiness of the Minuteman III weapon system,’ launch task force leader says
An LGM-30G Minuteman III missile was fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California late on Tuesday night and successfully hit its target 6,760km (4,200 miles) away on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, the US Air Force said.
The test showed that the United States’ nuclear deterrent remained “safe, secure, reliable and effective to deter twenty-first century threats and reassure our allies”, it said.
“The operators delivered an on-time, on-target sortie and provided yet another reminder of the readiness and reliability of the Minuteman III weapon system,” Major Jesse Haskett, commander of the launch task force, said in a press release.
Although the statement said ICBM launches were planned years in advance and not in response to world events or regional tensions, the launch coincided with America’s review of its nuclear strategies.