US tests Minuteman III or ‘Doomsday’ ballistic missile amid Iran conflict

WASHINGTON: The US tested a 'Doomsday' ballistic missile off the California coast Tuesday night - even as war raged in the Middle East.

The Minuteman III hypersonic ballistic missile was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Santa Barbara.

The unarmed rocket, known as GT 254, hit its intended target near the Marshall Islands in the west-central Pacific Ocean, according to the US Space Force. The missile was fired to "verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy," according to the Air Force Global Strike Command.

The missile is capable of carrying a single nuclear warhead, typically a W78 or W87, with a destructive power roughly 20 times that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It can reach targets more than 13,000 kilometers (over 8,000 miles) away, traveling at speeds of Mach 23 to 24, or approximately 24,140 km/hour. The missile measures 18.2 meters in length and weighs around 36,000 kilograms. Launched from underground hardened silos, it uses three solid-fuel rocket stages and inertial guidance to strike its target with high precision. (Agencies)

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