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Topics: US News
Callum Jones
The US has launched a missile as part of a test for the country's doomsday response should such an event ever occur.
The talk of nuclear weapons is never far away from the headlines, with some world leaders even using the threat of it to scare other nations.
In the event of nuclear weapons needing to be used, some countries will decide to test them out in the unlikely event they will be required in the future.
Of course, the possibilities are low, but it's best countries are prepared just in case, right?
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Well, the US has decided to test out their nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) earlier this week, which is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead anywhere on our planet.
The US Air Force launched the missile on Wednesday (May 21) morning, with the military confirming it was unarmed when it launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
It traveled an impressive 15,000 miles per hour to a test site in the Marshall Islands, which is some 4,200 miles away from the base in California, local officials confirmed.
Explaining the nuclear weapon, the US Air Force site states: "The Minuteman is a strategic weapon system using a ballistic missile of intercontinental range. Missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to an underground launch control center through a system of hardened cables.
"Launch crews, consisting of two officers, perform around-the-clock alert in the launch control center."
Following the test, the Air Force stressed it was 'not a response to current world events' - with tensions escalating in Europe as Russia's war in Ukraine continues.
Meanwhile, Trump this year issued a chilling warning about how nuclear weapons could 'end the world'.
The impressive Minutemen weapons system was brought about back in the late 1950s, while the nuclear weapon entering service in the early 1960s.
Wednesday was certainly a monumental day for the Air Force and all those involved in the program.
Gen. Thomas Bussiere, who is the commander of the U.S. Global Strike Command, said: "This ICBM test launch underscores the strength of the nation’s nuclear deterrent and the readiness of the ICBM leg of the triad."
There are currently 400 Minutemen III ICBMs in the US, but they're set to be replaced with new, more up-to-date Sentinel missiles. That upgrade, however, has been mired in delays, and it's unclear when it will be completed.