Avoiding nuclear tension with Russia, US cancels ballistic missile test

The Pentagon initially only announced the postponement of the Minuteman III test on March 2 after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s nuclear forces to be on high alert.

Photo taken of an ICBM Minuteman III test in 2017 released by the US military.

At the time, Washington stated, it was important that both Russia and the US “recognize the risks of miscalculation and take steps to reduce those risks”. The US authorities also said that they only planned to postpone the ICBM test later, not cancel this activity.

However, the US Air Force announced on April 1 that the US military had officially canceled the test launch of the Minuteman III missile for the same reason when it decided to postpone it before. The next Minuteman III test is expected later this year.

According to Reuters, changing the US ICBM test schedule could be controversial. Senator Jim Inhofe, the top Republican on the US Senate Armed Services Committee in March, expressed disappointment at the delay of a test that he believes is crucial to securing its effective nuclear deterrent.

However, a spokesman for the US Air Force said that they are always confident about the readiness of US strategic forces.

Jeffrey Lewis, a missile researcher at the James Martin Center for Non-Proliferation Studies (CNS) also downplayed the impact of aborting the test. According to him, the Minuteman III missile is extremely reliable.

Minuteman III is an ICBM that can carry nuclear warheads, playing a key role in the US military’s strategic arsenal. This missile has a range of more than 9,660km and can travel at a maximum speed of 24,000km/h.

The American missiles are being stored scattered in underground bunkers, operated by launch crews.

Tuan Anh

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