The United States Air Force recently conducted a test of its nuclear capabilities at a rather sensitive time.
On February 19, members of the Air Force Global Strike Command launched an intercontinental ballistic missile to assert that the country’s nuclear deterrent is “lethal” and ready for immediate action.
The Minuteman III practice launch occurred at 1 AM from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. According to the US Strategic Command, this was part of “routine and periodic activities” to prove that the US nuclear deterrent remains “safe, secure, reliable, and effective in deterring 21st-century threats” and to reassure allies.
The missile traveled at a speed of 15,000 miles per hour, reaching a test area near Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, completing the 4,200-mile journey in about 22 minutes.
This missile, capable of hitting any target globally within 30 minutes, can unleash devastation equivalent to 350,000 tons of TNT when armed with three Mk 12A nuclear warheads.
Despite being unarmed, the test coincided poorly with Russia’s deployment of its “Yars” intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for combat training just hours earlier.
This show of strength between the US and Russia brings to mind the Doomsday Clock, which was established in 1947 to signal the threat of nuclear conflict between the US and the Soviet Union. This year, the clock stands at 89 seconds to midnight, reflecting similar concerns nearly 80 years later.
The Bulletin’s Science and Security Board (SASB) considered threats from nuclear weapons, climate change, artificial intelligence, bio-threats, and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East when setting this dire countdown, marking it “the closest it has ever been to catastrophe.”
The last time the world felt somewhat secure from imminent disaster was in 1991, when the clock was set to 17 minutes to midnight following the Cold War’s conclusion and a treaty between the US and Soviet Union to reduce nuclear arsenals.
Meanwhile, national security expert Mark Toth and former US intelligence officer Col. Jonathan Sweet assert that World War Three is already underway through disinformation, cyber attacks, and economic manipulation.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton of the British Royal Air Force remarked at a conference: “With the rapid advancement of technology and the economic, technical, and warfighting capabilities of other major powers, we no longer have total air supremacy.”
Nevertheless, the US Air Force emphasizes that the recent missile test is one of over 300 similar exercises conducted in the past and assures that it is not a “response to current world events.”
Acting Secretary of the Air Force Gary Ashworth stated: “Today’s Minuteman III test launch is just one of the ways the Department of the Air Force demonstrates the readiness, precision, and professionalism of U.S. nuclear forces.
“It also provides confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrence mission.”
Col. Dustin Harmon, 377th TEG commander, added that the test “collected and analyzed performance and other key data points,” which will “pave the way for Sentinel,” a more “cost-effective” missile planned for development by the mid-2030s.