World War 3: US monster missile test amid China-Russia arms race

According to a statement from the US’s Defence headquarters – The Pentagon, Washington’s military has successfully tested a ground-launched ballistic missile amid efforts to outdo Russian military following the abandonment of the INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty). The Pentagon statement said: “The test missile exited its static launch stand and terminated in the open ocean after more than 500 kilometres of flight.

“Data collected and lessons learned from this test will inform the Department of Defense’s development of future intermediate-range capabilities.”

The launch took place at Vandenberg Air Force Base, located in California.

As highlighted by National Interest, the missile test represents a huge progression in the post INF Treaty competition between the US and other superpowers including Russia and China.

It signifies a calculated and deliberate development of weapons that would have previously possessed range outside of the limits set by the agreement.

The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) signed between Washington and the Soviet Union barred the use of the two nations’ land-based ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and missile launchers with that could hit targets from intermediate range, set at distances between 500km range and 5,500km range depending on the type of system.

The treaty was abandoned officially by the US in August.

President Donald Trump announced in October 2018 that he wanted to pull American out of the INF treaty, accusing Moscow of violating the terms of the nuclear arms agreement.

But the Kremlin has rejected the accusations, stressing that the scrapping of the INF treaty would force Russia to take measures to ensure its security.

READ MORE: Fears of war after Beijing accused of ‘coercing’ Taiwan

He added: “Not a single country possesses hypersonic weapons, let alone continental-range hypersonic weapons.”

Russian media reported last month the Tsirkon hypersonic missile will be tested before the end of the year in the White Sea, located close by and to the south of the Arctic region.

An unnamed source told the state-run news agency TASS that the test would take place at a naval range, marking another worrying twist as Russian war games and military exercises continue.

Mr Putin said in February: “This is a hypersonic missile called Tsirkon. It will have the speed of mach 9, it has a range of 1,000 km (620 miles) and can hit navy or land targets.”

source: express.co.uk