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The U.S. Air Force began testing an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in California early Wednesday morning to demonstrate its nuclear readiness.
The operational test began at 1:13 a.m. from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, about 60 miles north of Santa Barbara, the station confirmed on Twitter.
Pentagon announces new round of Minuteman ICBM attacks to demonstrate nuclear readiness
Air Force Brigadier General. General Pat Ryder was the first to announce a missile test from the Pentagon on Tuesday, stating that “the launch of this ICBM will verify and verify the effectiveness and readiness of the system.”
“This launch is a regular test and has been scheduled for quite some time and is consistent with previous tests,” he told reporters.
Wednesday’s test comes less than a month after the previous test started.
Ryder said the United States notified the Russian government in accordance with its treaty obligations prior to operational testing, and said the pre-launch announcement followed the Hague’s International Code of Conduct.
The missile test comes at a time when concerns over nuclear security are again rising amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and deteriorating relations between Russia and the West.
IAEA chief warns of ‘catastrophic’ accident at Zaporizhia nuclear power plant: ‘We are playing with fire’
Not only has Russia threatened to resort to nuclear escalation if the United States becomes more directly involved in the war, Russia has threatened to undermine European nuclear security by stationing troops at Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. threatened
The power station has been repeatedly threatened with artillery fire since it was invaded by Russia in February and then occupied in early March.
In August, the Air Force said it had conducted more than 300 intercontinental ballistic missile tests, saying they were “not the result of current world events.”
“The purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to demonstrate the readiness of the U.S. nuclear force, and to provide confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent,” Ryder said. told reporters on Tuesday.