US President Donald Trump had claimed during an interview that China, Russia, Pakistan and North Korea have been doing nuclear tests and the United States should also conduct a similar one. After his statement, the US Air Force tested an unarmed nuclear-capable long-range missile, according to the Air Force Global Strike Command. The missile is capable of carrying three nuclear missiles to other continents.
The unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, equipped with a test re-entry vehicle, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and travelled 4,200 miles to a test range near the Marshall Islands.
The US Air Force said in a statement, “This test launch is part of routine and periodic activities intended to demonstrate that the United States’ nuclear deterrent is safe, secure, reliable and effective to deter twenty-first century threats and reassure our allies. Such tests have occurred more than 300 times before, and this test is not the result of current world events.”
Notably, the United States had restricted nuclear tests since 1992, but the nation regularly tests its intercontinental weapon system to verify its accuracy and reliability.
The Minuteman III was prepared during the cold war and it is a part of the nuclear deterrent system. It has been designed to give a response to any nuclear attack, if it happens. The Minuteman III is traditionally known as the only land-based leg to the US nuclear triad. The other two parts of the triad are the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile and nuclear weapons carried by long-range strategic bombers.
