Iconic photo.
Washington:
The US on Wednesday test-fired an unarmed Minuteman-3 intercontinental ballistic missile. The US Army has given information about this. “The test is part of routine activities aimed at demonstrating that the United States’ nuclear deterrent is safe, reliable and effective,” US Air Force Global Strike Command said in a statement.
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“Such tests have taken place more than 300 times in the past and this test is not a result of current global events,” he added.
The Pentagon said before the launch early Wednesday at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California that the test had been planned for years and that the Russian government had been informed of the plan.
The Minuteman-3 has been in service for over fifty years and is currently the only land-based ICBM in the US nuclear arsenal. It also includes Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads carried by strategic bombers.