Noelle/Unsplash
Military
Technology
/ USA
Minuteman III
ICBM - Intercontinental ballistic missile - American fails launch test
By: Gabriela Ramos
On: 5/7/2021
Minuteman III
U.S. Air Force photo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Tests of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile have failed and, according to the United States Air Force, the causes of this failure are still being investigated.
The tests were aimed at verifying the operation and effectiveness of the missile, and were carried out in California, at the Vanderberg air base.
In a statement, the USAF said that "at the moment, an investigation into the causes of the failure is being carried out, the United States Air Force Global Attacks Command is evaluating the possibility of postponing the test launch." Other tests with this missile had already been carried out in February.
Minuteman missiles were initially intended for nuclear deterrence in the Cold War era. It is currently the only land-based intercontinental ballistic missile in the U.S. These missiles are capable of hitting targets up to 12,000 kilometers away, and the United States currently has 450 missiles of this model.
Gabriela Ramos
Gabriela is the latest addition to the editorial team of our website, having provided us with her solid background in editing, publishing and photography, and her interest and training in aviation history and historiography. His good taste and common sense and great cleverness and sagacity in the selection of themes and materials greatly enriched our vocabulary and narrative style. Gabriela brought unusual predicates and came to stay, helping to point the way of success of our portal.
   
|
|