Minuteman III ICBM launch ends in failure

[SpArK]

Minuteman III ICBM launch ends in failure​

WASHINGTON (BNS): The US military Wednesday destroyed one of its unarmed operational Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) over the Pacific Ocean after it malfunctioned during a test launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

US Air Force (USAF) controllers detected a flight anomaly and terminated the flight for safety reasons. When terminated, the vehicle was in the broad ocean area, northeast of Roi-Namur, according to a news report by the USAF.

"Established parameters were exceeded, and controllers sent destruct commands," Col. Matthew Carroll, the 30th Space Wing chief of safety, was quoted as saying in the report.

The missile blasted off from the base on time at 3:01 A.M and was supposed to travel about 4200 miles southwest to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, but did not reach its target.

The launch was an operational test to determine the weapon system's reliability and accuracy.

There were no details on what went wrong, and a Vandenberg spokesman said there won't be any further information until Thursday. The Air Force team is currently investigating the cause of the anomaly.

The Minuteman is a strategic weapon system using a ballistic missile of intercontinental range. Missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to an underground launch control center through a system of hardened cables. Launch crews, consisting of two officers, perform around-the-clock alert in the launch control center.

The Minuteman programme is controlled by the Air Force Global Strike Command at Louisiana's Barksdale Air Force Base.

Minuteman III ICBM launch ends in failure - Brahmand.com

 

[Don Jaguar]

Good news!!!

 

[Project 627]

USA hasn't designed or build a single ICBM sence the end of the Cold War, their entire nuclear infrastructure is falling apart due to lack of investment, so this is no surprise in that context.

 

[Black Widow]

USA hasn't designed or build a single ICBM sence the end of the Cold War, their entire nuclear infrastructure is falling apart due to lack of investment, so this is no surprise in that context.

Infact after Cold war, US don't need ICBM ... It's better they cut there Nuke Arsenal.... And one more thing.... Even US program can fail... Failure are not uncommon in development phase...

 

[Thomas]

USA hasn't designed or build a single ICBM sence the end of the Cold War, their entire nuclear infrastructure is falling apart due to lack of investment, so this is no surprise in that context.

I agree we need to modernize our ICBM's. But one operational test failure does not equal the entire nuke infrastructure falling apart. Even brand new systems are prone to failure. Just ask the Bulava missile developers.

 

[Black Widow]

I agree we need to modernize our ICBM's. But one operational test failure does not equal the entire nuke infrastructure falling apart. Even brand new systems are prone to failure. Just ask the Bulava missile developers.

No, You don't need... You have CBG, when your ships can deliver weapon at longest corner of earth, why the hell you need ICBM??? Its waste of money, Its good if you use this money to kill Terrorists...

 

[indushek]

No, You don't need... You have CBG, when your ships can deliver weapon at longest corner of earth, why the hell you need ICBM??? Its waste of money, Its good if you use this money to kill Terrorists...

Its the backup and with new rivals sprouting round the corner and daily developments in missile technology, what if the carriers are destroyed ?? The ICBMs then will destroy the attacking country completely. That is the grand idea.

 

[LeGenD]

USA hasn't designed or build a single ICBM sence the end of the Cold War, their entire nuclear infrastructure is falling apart due to lack of investment, so this is no surprise in that context.

No need to generalize on the whole thing on the basis of some incidents like these. Machines can fail too. And Minuteman is a very old and mature platform. In future, the fleet might be upgraded to Minuteman IV configuration level.

US doctrine for its nuclear infrastructure has changed considerably since the end of cold war.

US developed a new ICBM in 1986 (Peacekeeper). It was very advanced but US retired its fleet of Peacekeeper missiles under a denuclearization treaty with Russia.

However, US now maintains a very potent SLBM platform which guarantees efficient second strike capability and is equipped with its latest ICBM missile inventory developed in 1990 (Trident D5).

US realizes that nuclear weapons have little use in modern warfare and offensive missions. So wasting money on huge stock piles of nuclear weapons is no longer required. US nuclear doctrine is now limited to deterrence role only.

US is now focusing on improving its conventional offensive capabilities. The retired ICBM inventory will be modified for conventional roles. This will give US the capability to carry out long range missile strikes without putting its naval forces in the range of enemy weapons. Smart move.

 

[amalakas]

No reason for panic , ICBMs are systems, systems some times fail. That is why people test them every now and then to make sure they remain reliable.

and yes the US needs to modernise the N.arsenal a bit, if nothing else for safety and peace of mind.

 

[khurasaan1]

Oh! interesting Newz........

 

[xLancex]

Better luck next time. These things happen..

 

[Dalai Lama]

I can only imagine how popular this thread would have been if...

 

[Vasily Zaytsev]

If this has been a news of Indian missile failure, this thread could have reached dozens of pages within minutes with majority of posts from Pakistani and Chinese members making fun of the incidence.

I think Pakistan and China are only two countries in the world where no missile test ever results in a failure.

They both have 100 % success rate in their missile tests and will maintain that record long into the future.

Oh poor Americans, they have fallen behind Pakistan in this case.

 

[BelligerentPacifist]

^ Hardly. We never poke fun at your missile failures. Dig up my posts and see.

 

[tvsram1992]

^ Hardly. We never poke fun at your missile failures. Dig up my posts and see.

You might be , but not 'we'