Posted on 11/05/2024 4:53:20 PM PST by Libloather
The US military is set to conduct a test launch of a hypersonic nuclear missile hours after polls close on Election Day.
An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is scheduled to blast off between 11:01pm and 5:01am PT from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.
**SNIP**
But military officials noted that the 'test is routine and was scheduled years in advance.'
They said the purpose of the test was to show the 'readiness of nuclear US forces' and provide 'confidence in the nation's nuclear deterrence' amid fears of the growing threat of the outbreak of World War III.
The exercise will see the ICBM travel 4,200 miles from the base to Kwajalein Atoll, a small island in the North Pacific, which will take about 22 minutes.
The weapon can reach speeds over 15,000 miles per hour, allowing it 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 - the two nations deemed a threat to the US.
ICBM is one of two currently used by America - the other is submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) that are deployed from underwater submarines.
However, the US's Titan topped speeds of 16,000mph when it was used from 1963 through 1987.
Titan was capable of traveling to a target more than 6,000 miles away in less than 30 minutes.
But the missile was phased out to make way for more advanced systems such as the MX Peacekeeper that had a similar speed and distance.
ICBM is a vital component of the US military's nuclear forces, capable of delivering a nuclear payload to targets around the world, but is scheduled to be phased out by 2029 and replaced with the LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Is Mar-A-Lago the target? Subtle.
If Trump wins, they launch the missiles. Project Scorched Earth.
“ What could go wrong”
Nothing. Done it hundreds of times. I worked on the III and II when I served.
Maybe Elon Musk can intercept it with a Falcon9 launch. He's going to be a guest at Mar-a-lago tonite.
Every ICBM since the 1960’s has been “Hypersonic”
Dumb.
They Keep using that word. I do not think they know what that means.
I saw that. I hope they all, and each and every one of us have a wonderful celebration.
Hypersonic is a term with a set definition, it’s been around way longer than just a few years. To put it simply, it’s the speed at which the air ionizes around the flight vehicle, which is normally about Mach 5. Upper edge of the atmosphere doesn’t matter, at sea level 3800 mph is just about hypersonic.
Ballistic missiles are hypersonic missiles.
The space shuttle was a hypersonic glide vehicle.
Scramjets can operate at hypersonic speeds, but not every scramjet-powered vehicle can go hypersonic.
The correct term for a vehicle that travels fast enough in its medium is, by definition, hypersonic.
Plain old ICBMs have always been hypersonic missiles
These are launched every year and they ARE planned years in advance. I worked on 4 shots from Vandenberg to the BOA (Broad Ocean Area) or to Kwajalein. These test have gone on yearly almost as long as we have had ICBMs.
They probably got Joe on a slow thorazine drip. He’s in happy land.
Dumbest headline. Someone just wanted to say ‘hypersonic’.
This is nothing more than the usual Minuteman missle test that happens all the time. It is not hypersonic.
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