The U.S. military will test launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on September 7, the Pentagon says, adding that Russia has been notified.
A Pentagon spokesman described the test as routine and said it was meant to demonstrate the readiness of the U.S. military's nuclear forces and "provide confidence in the security and effectiveness of the nation's nuclear deterrent."
It will be the second test launch of the country's nuclear defenses in less than a month. The last occurred on August 16 and tested a Minuteman III ICBM that carried a test reentry vehicle, which in a strategic conflict could be armed with a nuclear warhead. The vehicle traveled about 6,760 kilometers to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the western Pacific.
The U.S. military delayed the test to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing during a Chinese show of force near Taiwan.
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said the test on September 7 will be of “an Air Force Global Strike command unarmed Minuteman III” ICBM from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Ryder stressed that the test would be "routine," adding that it had been long-scheduled and that Washington had notified Russia and other countries of the plan.
Ryder said the two tests were scheduled well in advance and are occurring close together because the first was postponed.