The next launch of the American Minuteman III intercontinental missile ended in failure. The reasons for the interruption of the ICBM flight are not reported.
The US Air Force Global Strike Command said a special commission was investigating the cause of the incident. The possibility of postponing missile tests to another date is also being evaluated.
The launch of the intercontinental three-stage rocket, as reported by TASS, was planned to be carried out from the California Vandenberg air base from 10:15 to 16:15 Moscow time. The training warhead was supposed to hit a target on Kwajalein atoll in the Pacific Ocean and confirm the effectiveness and accuracy of this class of missiles.
Note that the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles entered service with the US Army in the 1970s and, while undergoing modernization, still remain on combat duty. In order to extend the service life, test launches of missiles are carried out-up to four launches per year. As previously stated by the Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General John Hyten, after 2030, Minuteman III missiles will begin to fail.
Nevertheless, about 450 Minuteman III missiles are in the Pentagon's arsenal. Each of them can carry nuclear charges with a capacity of 300 or 335 kilotons. The range of the missiles is 12 thousand kilometers.
Nikolay Grishchenko
