- US tested unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, dubbed the "doomsday missile"
- A nuclear-capable missile, it has a range of 13,000 km, which means it can reach anywhere on Earth
- The test launch came amid the raging US-Israel war with Iran
The US has tested the unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, dubbed the "doomsday missile", amid a raging war with Iran.
The test launch was equipped with two test re-entry vehicles and was conducted on Tuesday from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, the Air Force Global Strike Command said in an official statement on Wednesday.
The launch was scheduled years ago and is "not in response to world events", it said.
🚨🇺🇸U.S. just tested a Minuteman III ballistic missile off the California coast while war rages in Iran.
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 5, 2026
The ICBM can carry nuclear warheads 20x more powerful than Hiroshima and travel 6,000 miles at 15,000 mph.
It hit its target near the Marshall Islands.
Pentagon says it was… https://t.co/0Xqjtatg7T pic.twitter.com/xYUN2yGOvj
"It is a key component of a data-driven program that has been in place for decades, involving over 300 similar tests designed to validate the performance of the weapon system. The data collected from these routine tests is essential for ongoing and future force development," it said.
During the test, the ICBM's two reentry vehicles traveled thousands of miles to a predetermined target at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Photo Credit: US Space Force
"This long-range flight allows engineers and weapons experts from the 377th Test and Evaluation Group to collect invaluable data on the missile's accuracy and reliability, verifying that every component of the ICBM weapon system performs as designed," the statement read.
The US had earlier tested Minuteman III in November last year.
Why Minuteman III Is A "Doomsday" Missile
The Minuteman III is a nuclear-capable missile, which is equipped with a single Mark-21 high-fidelity re-entry vehicle.
It has a range of 13,000 kilometres, which means it can reach anywhere on Earth.
It is the US' only non-mobile, silo-based, land-based, nuclear-capable ballistic missile.
It can carry three independent warheads that can fly in different directions before hitting the ground. The current Minuteman III, however, has only one warhead each due to a nuclear weapons reduction treaty with Russia.
Photo Credit: US Space Force
It is called a "doomsday" missile, as once fired, Earth can become no longer liveable due to radiation fallout everywhere.
Minuteman III Test Raises Eyebrows
The Minuteman III test has raised eyebrows, as it has come amid the escalating US-Israel war with Iran.
The war in the Middle East broke out when the American and Israeli military forces launched an attack on Iran last Saturday, killing 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In response, Tehran has been firing missiles at Israel and at US military bases in Gulf countries. Israel and the US have also been attacking Iranian targets.
The war spread to another region as an American submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing at least 80 people. The warship, IRIS Dena, had been on a friendly visit to India when it was hit.
https://t.co/PiqQpVIrMu pic.twitter.com/Wc1e0B0um7
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) March 4, 2026
It was the first time since World War II that an American submarine had struck a surface vessel.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters the IRIS Dena frigate "thought it was safe in international waters".
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