The United States is set to test-fire its second
intercontinental ballistic missile in a week in a show of military
prowess against rivals, reports say.
The planned blastoff overnight on Thursday or
early Friday of unarmed Minuteman III from a silo at Vandenberg Air
Force Base in California is meant to demonstrate the ability of American
nuclear arms, according to Reuters.
The strategic missile will be headed toward a target area near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands of the South Pacific.
Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said the
tests, conducted at least 15 times since January 2011, send a message to
strategic competitors like Russia, China and North Korea that the
United States has an effective nuclear arsenal.
"That’s exactly why we do this," Work told reporters.
"We and the Russians and the Chinese routinely do
test shots to prove that the operational missiles that we have are
reliable. And that is a signal ... that we are prepared to use nuclear
weapons in defense of our country if necessary," he added.
Demonstrating the reliability of the nuclear force
has taken on additional importance recently because the aging US
arsenal is near the end of its useful life and a spate of scandals in
the nuclear force two years ago raised readiness questions.
The Defense Department has poured millions of
dollars into improving conditions for troops responsible for staffing
and maintaining the nuclear systems. The US administration also is
putting more focus on upgrading the weapons.
President Barack Obama’s final defense budget
unveiled this month calls for a $1.8 billion hike in nuclear arms
spending to overhaul the country's aging nuclear bombers, missiles,
submarines and other systems.
The president's $19 billion request would allow
the Pentagon and Energy Department to move toward a multiyear overhaul
of the atomic arms infrastructure that is expected to cost $320 billion
over a decade and up to a trillion dollars over 30 years.
