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US carries out training launch of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile

It was the first of the two Minuteman III ICBM launches scheduled for this week

WASHINGTON, June 4. /TASS/. The United States on Tuesday carried out a training launch of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from the Vanderberg US Space Force base.

"A joint team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen supported by Space Force Guardians launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with one re-entry vehicle on June 4 at 12:56 a.m. Pacific Time from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California," reads a post on the base’s website.

According to the U.S. military, this test launch was "part of routine and periodic activities intended to demonstrate that the United States' nuclear deterrent is safe, secure, reliable and effective."

It was the first of the two Minuteman III ICBM launches scheduled for this week. The other one is due on June 6.

The US Department of Defense planned to deploy the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile to replace the Minuteman III ICBM.

This stage should become one of the central elements of upgrading the national nuclear forces. According to Pentagon estimates, the missile will go operational no earlier than 2031.

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