US announces intercontinental ballistic missile test

International

-DW News

Washington,
Sep
07:
The
US
military
will
test
an
intercontinental
ballistic
missile
(ICBM)
on
Wednesday,
the

Pentagon
said
in
an
unusual
pre-launch
announcement.

It
will
be
the
second
such
US
nuclear
defense
drill
in
less
than
a
month.

“There
will
be
an
operational
test
launch
of
an
Air
Force
Global
Strike
command
unarmed
Minuteman
III
intercontinental
ballistic
missile
early
tomorrow
morning,
September
7,
from
Vandenberg
Space
Force
Base
in
California,”
Pentagon
spokesman
Brigadier
General
Pat
Ryder
said
on
Tuesday.

Ryder
said
that
this
“routine”
test
had
been
long-scheduled
and
that
the
US
had
notified
Russia
and
other
countries
of
the
plans.

US
India
2+2
intersessional
meeting
in
Delhi
next
week

The
aim
of
the
test
“is
to
demonstrate
the
readiness
of
US
nuclear
forces
and
provide
confidence
in
the
security
and
effectiveness
of
the
nation’s
nuclear
deterrent,”
Ryder
told
reporters.

Two
tests
in
one
month

The
US
Air
Force
successfully
launched
a
Minutemen
III
ICBM
on
August
16,
after
having
postponed
the
test
twice
to
avoid
stoking
tensions
over
Ukraine
and
Taiwan.

The
missile
carried
a
test
re-entry
vehicle,
which
in
a
strategic
conflict
could
be
armed
with
a
nuclear
warhead.

The
re-entry
vehicle
traveled
about
4,200
miles
(6,760
kilometers)
to
the
Kwajalein
Atoll
in
the
Marshall
Islands
in
the
western
Pacific.

Ryder
said
the
two
tests
were
scheduled
well
in
advance
and
are
held
close
together
due
to
the
postponement
of
the
first.

Source: DW