The United States carried out a test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Tuesday, amid growing attention to President Donald Trump’s recent order to conduct new forms of nuclear testing.
According to the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command, the launch was part of a routine, pre-planned evaluation of the Minuteman III system’s reliability and operational readiness. The missile was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and traveled roughly 4,200 miles across the Pacific Ocean before landing at the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Officials confirmed that Russia was notified in advance of the test, consistent with standard practice under nuclear transparency measures. However, Moscow reacted sharply to Trump’s recent comments about restarting nuclear testing. Russian officials expressed concern that Washington’s rhetoric could escalate tensions between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
Former Russian President and current Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev criticized Trump’s remarks on Telegram, stating: “No one knows what Trump meant by ‘nuclear testing’—he probably doesn’t himself. But he is the President of the United States, and the consequences of such words are inescapable: Russia will be forced to assess the expediency of conducting full-fledged nuclear tests itself.”
Trump later sought to clarify his remarks, writing on Truth Social that the new tests would focus on “non-explosive systems testing.” Administration officials confirmed that these would not involve live nuclear detonations but rather simulations and system integrity evaluations of existing warheads and delivery vehicles.
Analysts note that actual nuclear detonations would be highly impractical and politically provocative, given that the U.S. already possesses extensive data on warhead performance from decades of testing. Instead, the focus appears to be on ensuring readiness of delivery systems, such as the aging Minuteman III, until the new Sentinel ICBM enters service later this decade.