A second test launch of a Minuteman III took place in the US earlier today.
The unarmed missile took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base just after 7am Irish time, and flew almost 4,200 miles to a test range near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
This is the second ICBM launch in seven days. Another Minuteman III weapon was launched on April 26.
US sources have denied that either one of these events has anything to do with the situation in North Korea, stating instead that test launches are planned months in advance.
US military officials added that these tests are ‘signals to our allies and our adversaries that our ICBM capability is safe, secure, lethal and ready.”
The Minuteman ICBM is part of the US’ nuclear ‘triad’ of missiles, B-52 bombers, and submarines used to maintain deterrence.
The Minuteman arsenal, which entered active service in 1970, is close to obsolescence. The US will invest up to $1tr over the next decade to fund a nuclear weapon replacement program.