hypersonic missile test fired...Targeted 6759km in 22 minutes
Feb 20, 2025
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According to the LA Times and other foreign media, Minuteman 3 ICBM launch training took place at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1 a.m. on the 19th (local time).
The missile flew at a speed of 15,000 miles per hour (about 24,140 kilometers) and hit the target area near the Pacific Ocean's Quazalane Atoll. It fell in about 22 minutes to about 4,200 miles (about 6,759 kilometers) from the launch area.
The hypersonic weapon is designed to strike all targets around the world in just 30 minutes after launch.
The Russian capital, Moscow, is about 5,900 miles from California and 6,000 miles from the Chinese capital, Beijing.
The Minuteman III ICBM can carry up to three nuclear warheads when using the W78 warhead, but the test was fired unarmed on the same day.
The U.S. Air Force was wary of an expanded interpretation, saying that the launch was a scheduled exercise and part of an ongoing effort to maintain a reliable deterrent.
Acting Air Force Secretary Gary Asheworth said the "Minute Man III test is one of the ways the U.S. Air Force demonstrates the readiness, accuracy, and expertise of U.S. nuclear forces."
Prior to this, Russia also showed off its nuclear capabilities.
Russia's Ministry of Defense announced on the 19th that it conducted a stealth maneuvering drill for Yars ICBM in the Volga region two weeks ago.
At the same time, a video of the Yars missile launcher passing through a snowy forest was released.
Yars are nuclear missiles that can be moved by truckers or deployed in silos. Russia conducted a similar operation in July last year as a nuclear warning to the West at a time of escalating confrontation over the war in Ukraine.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
