Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States military base located in Cascade County, Montana. Here they are kept Minuteman III, nuclear-armed ICBM, developed in 1969: with the latest upgrades it could be used in the upcoming Russian-Ukrainian conflict. However, China’s case exploded with the spy balloon that flew over the American base.
The military base
In Montana, the United States has an arsenal of 150 Minuteman III ICBMs with nuclear weapons, in the silo at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The base has been active since 1941 and since 1954 it has been named after Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom, who died that year in an accident.
What is the Minuteman III
The Minuteman III is an Icm, that is, a ICBM capable of carrying nuclear warheads up to a distance of about 11,000 kilometers.
The name Minuteman comes from the name given to the militia members of the American Colonies, who had to be ready for battle at only a minute’s notice. Later, the term “Minuteman” was also applied to several other American military units, to remember the success and patriotism of the fighters of this militia.
Built by the US, it is the only land-launched ICBM and is complementary to the submarine-borne Trident missile and nuclear weapons carried by long-range strategic bombers. The missile is contained in large reinforced concrete silos connected to command posts with shielded cables not to be destroyed by a possible atomic attack.
The United States Air Force (USAF) had plans to keep the missile in service until 2020, but if it were to be upgraded it could will remain in service until 2040.
The US Minuteman inventory currently consists of 500 Minutemans ready in launch silos at US bases. Warren in WyomingFrom Malmstrom In the montana and of Minot in North Dakota.
The missile is of the inertial guidance type with three stages of solid propellant and in addition the main re-entry module has a liquid propellant engine with the possibility of trajectory correction.
The Minuteman III entered service in 1970 and has been continuously updated since then.
The Pentagon says China sent a spy balloon over Montana, home to one of the most sensitive US military installations that monitors Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, to gather information, days before Blinken’s trip to Beijing .
— Diana Pantone (@dianasrosewolf) February 3, 2023
“Chinese Spy Balloon”
The Chinese spy balloon spotted over the continental United States and monitored by the Pentagon flew over one of three US nuclear missile sites. Malmstrom Air Force Base of Billings, Montana. The American media write it. Defense officials said the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down because of the risk of harm to people on the ground from falling debris. They added that the balloon flies above civilian air traffic and below “outer space,” but declined to specify how far. A senior defense official has said the United States does “very safe” if it is a high-flying Chinese balloon flying over sensitive locations to collect information.
Source : IL Messaggero
