US fires doomsday missile test from California coast as war in Middle East rages
The United States launched a Minuteman III ballistic missile off the California coast Tuesday night as conflict escalates in the Middle East.
The missile — capable of carrying nuclear warheads roughly 20 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima — was fired from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Santa Barbara at 11 p.m.
The unarmed rocket, designated GT 254, successfully reached its target near the Marshall Islands in the west-central Pacific Ocean, the US Space Force confirmed. According to the Air Force Global Strike Command, the launch was conducted to “verify the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy” of the missile system.
“[It] allowed us to assess the performance of individual components of the missile system,” Lt. Col. Karrie Wray, commander of the 576th Flight Test Squadron, said in a press release. “By continually assessing varying mission profiles, we are able to enhance the performance of the entire [Intercontinental Ballistic Missile] fleet, ensuring the maximum level of readiness for the land-based leg of the nation’s nuclear triad.”
The test launch comes just days after the US and Israel conducted an attack on Iran that resulted in the death of the nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at his compound in Tehran, sparking regional conflict.
President Trump vowed to intensify military action against Iran, warning, “The big one is coming.” Officials emphasized that Tuesday’s missile launch was routine and had been scheduled years in advance.
The Minuteman III is a key component of the United States’ nuclear triad, which allows for the deployment of nuclear weapons from land, sea, and air. Missiles are stored in silos across the western US and are designed to deter attacks by ensuring a retaliatory strike capability.
A Minuteman III missile was also launched in November following President Trump’s call to resume nuclear weapons testing. The missile can travel 6,000 miles at speeds exceeding 15,000 mph, making it capable of striking targets anywhere in the world.
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