MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/. The United States launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Minuteman III in response to the DPRK's tests of missiles of various classes Alexander Stepanov, a military expert, program director of the Academy of Political Sciences, senior researcher at the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences has told TASS.

Earlier, the command of the US Space Force Vandenberg base (California) said a test launch of a Minuteman III ICBM took place at 11:01 p.m. PST on November 5 (7:01 a.m. Moscow time on November 6). According to the base command, the ICBM test launch validated the readiness, reliability and effectiveness of the US nuclear deterrent.

"As soon as Lloyd Austin said that the United States intended to defend South Korea from threats by all possible means, including nuclear weapons, the DPRK responded with a series of missile tests of various classes. The key thing is that Pyongyang tested a record range ICBM Hwasong-19, capable of covering a distance of over 15,000 kilometers, paying close attention to the most remote areas of the United States, and even the European theater of military operations. The main American lobbyist of the military-industrial complex - Secretary of Defense Austin - issued orders to employ the long-standing instruments of nuclear deterrence," Stepanov believes.

Commenting on the budget of the program to create the newest US nuclear weapons, he noted that Northrop Grumman Corporation "has been trying for a year now to create next-generation strategic weapons, demanding ever more investment."

"The total project estimate is already around $113 billion and is likely to go up. According to the US command’s plans the Minuteman III is to be replaced in the 2030s by the LGM-35 Sentinel, the newest land-based missile, currently in the testing phase. The entire program to replace the Minuteman III with the LGM-35 Sentinel is estimated at $264 billion. However, if the new systems are adopted, their installation to replace Minuteman III in silo launchers is scheduled for 2029," the expert said.

He also speculated that Austin might soon take a seat on the board of directors of one of US industrial giants - Northrop Grumman or Lockheed Martin.