The United States announced on Tuesday September 6 that it would test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the next day, a very unusual move intended to avoid any escalation of tensions with Russia in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine.
“This unarmed Minuteman III missile test will take place tomorrow morning, September 7, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder told reporters. “This is a routine test that has been planned for a long time and which, like previous tests, will validate and verify the effectiveness and readiness of the system.“, he added. “The United States notified the Russian government in advance“said the spokesperson.
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The United States does not usually announce its ICBM missile tests in advance. The last test of Minuteman III, a missile equipped with a warhead that in wartime can carry a nuclear bomb, had been postponed twice. Originally scheduled for March, it was postponed for the first time because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Washington fearing that Moscow would use this ordinary test to widen the conflict to other countries. It had been postponed a second time in early August after the visit of the speaker of the American House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, an island claimed by the Chinese authorities. The test was finally successfully completed on August 16.
It is a coincidence that the two tests are conducted so close together, underlined General Ryder. The Minuteman III, in service for 50 years, is the only surface-to-air missile in the US nuclear arsenal since 2005. It is installed in launch silos spread across three US military bases, in Wyoming, Dakota North, and Montana (northern United States). Trident missiles, launched from the sea, are deployed on board American submarines while nuclear bombs are carried by strategic bombers.