Computer error prevented the launch of the Minuteman III ballistic missile
WASHINGTON, (BM) – As we announced earlier this week, the US Air Force was preparing a test of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
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However, the test failed after a computer error occurred during the countdown, which automatically turned off the rocket and failed the planned sweats. The Air Force Headquarters says the missile computer found a mistake in the “sequence of inspections” before the launch.
A detailed and in-depth investigation into the causes of the failed test is pending. The US Air Force may set another date for the test.
The missiles used in the tests do not carry nuclear warheads as in actual operations. When launched, they flew for about 30 minutes and landed more than 4,200 miles in Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Four tests are performed annually
The Minuteman-3, which entered service in the 1970s, is undergoing modernization from time to time. Up to four launches are made annually to confirm the ICBM’s combat readiness.
Global Strike Command emphasizes each time that “the planning of each test takes from 6 months to a year and these launches are not a reaction to any events that are currently happening in the world.”
The Pentagon has 400 Minuteman-3 missiles, each of which carries one nuclear warhead with a yield of 300 or 335 kilotons. Another 50 mines are in reserve: the Pentagon can place missiles next to them immediately.
Recall that in October 2019, the United States conducted a test launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile Minuteman-3 (ICBM); The Pentagon fired the missile from a silo at Vanderberg Air Force Base in California.
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