US postpones Minuteman III test launch in bid to ease nuclear tension
Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. (Photo: USAF)
The US decision to delay a test launch of the Minuteman III land-based strategic nuclear missile was taken to de-escalate tensions with Russia, after Vladimir Putin ordered a special alert of nuclear forces last week.
The tensions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the recent special alert of Russian nuclear forces led the US DoD to delay the test launch scheduled for this week of the nuclear-capable Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Currently, there is no rescheduled date for the ICBM test launch.
During a press conference on 3 March, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby claimed that the DoD decision is not ‘a step backwards in the US readiness’ but an effort to demonstrate that the US has ‘no intention in engaging in any actions that can be misunderstood or misconstrued'.
He explained: ‘We did
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