AP February 26, 2016, 11:29 AM
U.S. conducts nuclear missile test amid N. Korea tensions
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, California -- Like a giant pen stroke
in the sky, an unarmed Minuteman 3 nuclear missile roared out of its
underground bunker on the California coastline Thursday and soared over the
Pacific, inscribing the signature of American power amid growing worry about
North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons capable of reaching U.S. soil.
When it comes to deterring an attack by North Korea or other
potential adversaries, the missile is the message.
At 11:01 p.m. Pacific Standard Time Thursday, the Minuteman
missile, toting a payload of test instruments rather than a nuclear warhead,
leaped into the darkness in an explosion of flame. It arced toward its test
range in the waters of the Kwajalein Atoll, an island chain about 2,500 miles
southwest of Honolulu.
About 30 minutes later the re-entry vehicle that carries the
missile's payload reached its target, Col. Craig Ramsey, commander of the 576th
Flight Test Squadron, told an assembled group of observers, including Deputy
Defense Secretary Robert Work and Adm. Cecil Haney, the top nuclear
war-fighting commander.
The missile test, dubbed "Glory Trip 218," was the
second this month and the latest in a series designed to confirm the
reliability of the Cold War-era missile and all its components. The Minuteman
3, first deployed in 1970, has long exceeded its original 10-year lifespan. It
is so old that vital parts are no longer in production.
The Air Force operates 450 Minuteman missiles -- 150 at each of
three missile fields in Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota. A few times a year,
one missile is pulled from its silo and trucked to Vandenberg, minus its
nuclear warhead, for a test launch.
Aside from confirming technical soundness, Minuteman test
launches are the U.S. military's way of sharpening the message that forms the
foundation of U.S. nuclear deterrence theory - that if potential attackers
believe U.S. nuclear missiles and bombs are ready for war at all times, then no
adversary would dare start a nuclear fight.
The credibility of this message can be damaged by signs of
weakness or instability in the nuclear weapons force. In 2013-14 the Associated
Press documented morale, training, leadership and equipment problems in the
Minuteman force, and in January the Air Force acknowledged to the AP that
errors by a maintenance crew damaged an armed Minuteman in May 2014.
Work said in an interview ahead of Thursday's launch that he
sees good progress in fixing the problems in the nuclear missile corps. He also
said the Vandenberg test launches are critically important.
"It is a signal to anyone who has nuclear weapons that we
are prepared to use nuclear weapons in defense of our country, if
necessary," he said, adding later, "We do it to demonstrate that
these missiles -- even though they're old - they still remain the most
effective, or one of the most effective, missiles in the world."
Air Force officials say the test launches are a morale booster
because they give launch crews and others a chance to leave their usual duties
and participate in an actual launch. They otherwise do 24-hour shifts,
year-round, in underground missile command posts, hoping the call to combat
never comes.
The credibility of this message can be damaged by signs of
weakness or instability in the nuclear weapons force. In 2013-14 the Associated
Press documented morale, training, leadership and equipment problems in the
Minuteman force, and in January the Air Force acknowledged to the AP that
errors by a maintenance crew damaged an armed Minuteman in May 2014.
Work said in an interview ahead of Thursday's launch that he
sees good progress in fixing the problems in the nuclear missile corps. He also
said the Vandenberg test launches are critically important.
"It is a signal to anyone who has nuclear weapons that we
are prepared to use nuclear weapons in defense of our country, if
necessary," he said, adding later, "We do it to demonstrate that
these missiles -- even though they're old - they still remain the most
effective, or one of the most effective, missiles in the world."
Air Force officials say the test launches are a morale booster
because they give launch crews and others a chance to leave their usual duties
and participate in an actual launch. They otherwise do 24-hour shifts,
year-round, in underground missile command posts, hoping the call to combat
never comes.
Together, the United States and Russia control the vast majority
of the world's nuclear weapons, and both countries regularly conduct ICBM test
launches. The Russians generally do them more often, at least in part because
they have new missiles in development whereas the Minuteman 3 is the only U.S.
ICBM. The U.S. Air Force is planning a new-generation ICBM, but it is not
scheduled to begin entering the force until about 2030.
Pavel Podvig, an independent analyst of Russian nuclear forces
and publisher of the RussianForces.org blog, said in an interview that Moscow
puts less stock in the public messaging aspect of missile test launches than
does Washington.
"They (the Russians) do want to make sure the missiles are
still functioning," he said, "But the message is as much for
themselves as for the outside world."
North Korea, on the other hand, aims for maximum political
impact when it conducts missile test launches or detonates a nuclear device, as
it did Jan. 6. The potential for North Korea to field a nuclear warhead small
enough to fit atop an intercontinental missile is among the worries American
officials cite as justification for investing tens of billions of dollars in a
new fleet of U.S. ICBMs and other types of nuclear weaponry.
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