WASHINGTON – The Air Force says its test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel had postponed in April because of tensions with North Korea, is now scheduled to happen on Tuesday.
The unarmed Minuteman 3 missile is to be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and travel 6,742 kilometres to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It is one in a series of periodic launches to ensure that the ICBM force is reliable.
Read also: North Korea continues short-range missile tests
The U.S. has 450 nuclear-armed Minuteman 3 missiles ready for combat use, if directed by the president. They are in underground silos in five states.
In April the Pentagon said Hagel postponed the test launch from Vandenberg because of concern that it could be misinterpreted and exacerbate the Korean crisis.
- Barron Trump, 18, selected as Florida delegate at Republican National Convention
- 2 Boeing 737 passenger planes involved in accidents, mere hours apart
- Cruise ship arrives in New York with dead endangered whale stuck on bow
- Boeing 737 whistleblower says he found 100s of defects on plane parts every day
Comments