A test of an unarmed Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile was postponed by the Pentagon after Russian President Vladimir Putin placed The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation on “high alert”. The move was made in order to avoid any possible misunderstanding by the Russians and prevent a potential escalation of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The test was routine and one of the usual four or so that the US Military conducts every year to maintain the readiness of our nuclear arsenal.
The 50,000 man branch of the Russian Armed Forces controls the land-based portion of Russia’s 1,185 ballistic missiles, the Russian Navy can field 800 submarine-launched warheads while their Air Force’s bombers can field 580 bombs.
Better To Keep The Missile In The Ground… And Ready
According to Military Times, “Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the decision to delay the test of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile was made by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. He said the U.S. would like to see Moscow reciprocate by “taking the temperature down” in the crisis over Ukraine.
Kirby said the U.S. did not put its nuclear forces on higher alert in response to Putin’s move, which the spokesman described as dangerous and unnecessary.
Austin is “comfortable that the strategic deterrence posture that we have in place is up to the task of defending the homeland and our allies.”
“We recognize, at this moment of tension, how critical it is that both the United States and Russia bear in mind the risk of miscalculation and take steps to reduce those risks,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
He said the decision to delay the test was meant to “demonstrate that we have no intention in engaging in any actions that can be misunderstood or misconstrued.” as reported by Reuters.
“We did not take this decision lightly, but instead to demonstrate that we are a responsible nuclear power.” Kirby continued. “This is not a step backwards in our readiness, nor does it imply that we will necessarily cancel other routine activities to ensure a credible nuclear capability. We remain confident in our strategic posture, as we’ve said before, and our ability to defend the homeland and our allies and partners remains fully intact and ready.”
The Financial Times observed that per the Federation of American Scientists, Russia has just under 4,500 nuclear weapons, compared to the United States, which has more than 3,700.
