The US Air Force launched an unarmed test of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in California early Wednesday in a show of nuclear readiness.
The operational test took off at 1:13 a.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, about 90 kilometers north of Santa Barbara, the base confirmed on Twitter. Wednesday’s test comes less than a month after a previous test was also launched.
Ryder said the U.S. notified the Russian government of its treaty obligations before the operational test and noted that the pre-launch notification complied with the international Hague Code of Conduct.
The missile test comes as concerns over nuclear security have once again risen amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and strained relations between Moscow and the West.
Not only has Russia threatened to use nuclear escalation if the US gets more directly involved in the war, it has threatened Europe’s nuclear security by stationing its troops at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
The power plant has been under constant threat of bombing since the Russian invasion in February and the subsequent occupation in early March.
In August, the Air Force said it had conducted more than 300 intercontinental ballistic missile tests and noted that they were “not the result of current world events.”