US launches nuclear missile to show ‘readiness’ amid fears around WW3

Footage from the test launch was shared on social media.

The Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) exercise kicked off at 1am PT (5am ET) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, just a few hours after Russia deployed its 'Yars' ICBM for combat training.

Early this morning, @AFGlobalStrike Airmen & @SLDelta30 Guardians launched an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM test launch, ensuring the 🇺🇸 maintains a strong, credible nuclear deterrent vital to national security & the safety of U.S. #AlliesandPartners.
👉https://t.co/aVsAz4vRrw pic.twitter.com/gRA9LWtcdO

— U.S. Space Command (@US_SpaceCom) February 19, 2025

"Today’s Minuteman III test launch is just one of the ways the Department of the Air Force demonstrates the readiness, precision, and professionalism of US nuclear forces," stated Acting Secretary of the Air Force Gary Ashworth.

"It also provides confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrence mission."

The nuclear missile took off in the dead of night, traveling 15,000 miles per hour to a test range near Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It completed the 4,200-mile journey in about 22 minutes.

The hypersonic weapon was designed to hit any target worldwide in just 30 minutes after launch.

Moscow sits about 5,900 miles from California, while Beijing is about 6,000 miles away - two nations deemed as threats to the US. 

The Minuteman III missile test was ‘part of the Nation’s ongoing commitment to maintaining a credible deterrent and is not a response to current world events’, according to the United States Space Force.

The US missile was deployed only hours after Russia pushed out autonomous launchers of its own intercontinental ballistic missile - the RS-24 Yars - which can hold nuclear warheads, per a Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Telegram.

Russia sent the launchers on a combat patrol route, and the move signals that Moscow is prepared to escalate the war with Ukraine despite peace talks that Russian and US officials partook in on Tuesday.

Russia has the most nuclear weapons of any country in the world, with roughly 5,580 warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists last year.

The US is second with around 5,040 warheads, followed by China with about 500, France with 290 and the UK with 225.

The Air Force said Wednesday's launch was a scheduled exercise and 'is part of the nation's ongoing commitment to maintaining a credible deterrent and is not a response to current world events.'