WASHINGTON: The United States will carry out a test launch of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space ...
WASHINGTON: The United States will carry out a test launch of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, according to a statement on the facility’s website.
"An operational test launch of an Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is scheduled between 11:01 p.m. to 5:01 a.m. Pacific Time, November 4, from north Vandenberg," the statement reads.
According to the document, "this test is routine and was scheduled years in advance," while "the purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system."
The first Minuteman III ICBMs of the Minuteman missile family were developed in the late 1960s and have been in US service since the 1970s. The missile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Last week, US President Donad Trump instructed the Pentagon to immediately launch nuclear weapons tests, alleging that Russia and China continued to test their arsenals. Later, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright specified that the trials would not involve actual detonations but rather the testing of the components necessary for a nuclear blast.
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