US successfully conducts missile test: ‘US nuclear deterrent is safe’

The United States announced on Tuesday that it has successfully test-fired the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a test postponed twice to avoid escalating tensions around the first Ukraine, Taiwan.

The US Air Force said in a statement that the missile, which was unarmed, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Armed with a wartime nuclear warhead, the US military said it traveled about 6,760 km before sinking into the sea near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. “This test is part of routine and periodic activities intended to demonstrate that the United States’ nuclear deterrent is safe, reliable, and effective to counter the threats of the 21st century and to reassure our allies.“, underlined the US Air Force. “More than 300 such tests have already taken place, and this is not due to current world events”,

The test was scheduled for March, but had previously been postponed due to Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, with Washington fearing Moscow might use the usual test to expand the conflict to other regions. It was postponed for the second time in early August following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, an island claimed by Chinese officials.