Mere coincidence? US to test-fire hypersonic nuclear missile on Election Day, report says
US elections 2024
The United States military is scheduled to test-fire a hypersonic nuclear missile on Tuesday (Nov 5) within hours after the presidential polls close, according to a report in Express UK. The launch of the unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is expected between 11:01 pm and 5:01 am (local time) from the US state of California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.
According to US military officials, the test will be conducted to exhibit the "readiness of nuclear US forces" and provide "confidence in the nation's nuclear deterrence".
The officials also stressed that the test launch had nothing to do with the presidential elections as the "test is routine and was scheduled years in advance."
Watch:US Presidential Election 2024: How it will impact foreign policy?
The missile will make a breathtaking show as it will be fired across the Pacific sky.
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
Both pilots killed as training aircraft crashes in Lucknow – What we know
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the S-400 protects itself from enemy attacks
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
It will travel a staggering 4,200 miles from its US base to Kwajalein Atoll—a small island in the North Pacific. To put things into perspective, this journey is roughly the same distance as between London and New Delhi. Notably,the missile will cover that distance in just 22 minutes.
The test is scheduled against the backdrop of rising tensions in West Asia, Ukraine as well as the Taiwan Strait.
The launch may also be seen as the USA’s symbolic pushback against alleged Russian, Chinese and Iranian plots to interfere in the country’s election process.
The FBI said on Tuesday that fake bomb threats have been made to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains.
"None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far," it said in a statement. It did not identify the states.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also blamed a Russian operation for two non-credible bomb threats that prompted an evacuation of two Fulton County polling places.
(With inputs from agencies)