The test of a transcontinental ballistic missile Minuteman III, which had been delayed to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing during a show of force by China near Taiwan earlier this month, the United States military announced on Tuesday (8/16).
China deployed dozens of aircraft and launched live missiles across the Taiwan Strait after visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-governing island.
China, as reported by the Athens News Agency, considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and has not renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.
“It showed the readiness of US nuclear forces”
The test, as the US military points out in a related announcement, showed “the readiness of the nuclear forces of USA and provides confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.”
The military also pointed out that about 300 tests had been carried out previously and this was not the result of any specific international event.
In April, the US military canceled a test of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. The delay was intended to reduce nuclear tensions with Russia during the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The nuclear-capable Minuteman III, made by Boeing ( BA.N ), is key to its strategic arsenal US Army. The missile has a range of 6,000+ miles (9,660+ kilometers) and a speed of about 15,000 miles per hour (24,000 kilometers per hour).
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in February that his country’s nuclear forces should be put on high alert, sparking fears that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to nuclear war. But US officials have said they see no reason yet to change the US nuclear alert levels.
Russia and the US have by far the largest arsenals of nuclear weapons since the Cold War that divided the world into two camps for most of the 20th century, pitting the West against the Soviet Union and its allies.
Source: News Beast
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