The United States has tested an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, often dubbed the “doomsday missile”, even as tensions escalate in the Middle East amid the ongoing war involving the US, Israel, and Iran.
The test launch took place on Tuesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, according to an official statement issued Wednesday by the Air Force Global Strike Command. The missile was equipped with two test re-entry vehicles.
US officials said the launch was part of a long-planned programme and was “not in response to world events”.
“This long-range flight allows engineers and weapons experts from the 377th Test and Evaluation Group to collect invaluable data on the missile’s accuracy and reliability, verifying that every component of the ICBM weapon system performs as designed,” the statement said.
During the test, the re-entry vehicles travelled thousands of miles before striking a predetermined target near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
The Minuteman III is the United States’ only non-mobile, silo-based, land-based nuclear-capable ballistic missile. It has a range of about 13,000 kilometres, allowing it to strike targets almost anywhere on Earth. The missile can carry three independent nuclear warheads that can travel in different directions before impact, although current versions carry a single warhead under a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia.
The system uses a Mark-21 high-fidelity re-entry vehicle and forms a key part of America’s nuclear deterrence strategy. The US previously tested the Minuteman III in November last year.
The launch comes as the Middle East conflict intensifies following US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has since launched missile attacks on Israel and US bases in the Gulf.
The conflict widened further on Wednesday after a US submarine sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka’s coast, killing at least 80 sailors. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the frigate “thought it was safe in international waters.”