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TThe Defense Ministry on Sunday launched a ground cruise missile, the first of its kind since President Trump withdrew the US from a Cold War era treaty banning them earlier this month. .
"The test missile has left its land thrower and hit its target with precision after more than 500 km of flight," the Pentagon said in a statement. "The data collected and lessons learned from this test will inform the Department of Defense's development of intermediate-range capabilities."
The test launch took place in San Nicolas Island, California, an isolated island off the coast of Los Angeles, using a variant of the Tomahawk cruise missile.
Before August 2, the test would have been illegal. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed in 1987 by the former Soviet Union and the United States, prohibited the two countries from testing or putting into service missiles with a range of 500 km to 310 km. 5,500 km. Trump announced that he would withdraw the US from the treaty earlier this year due to concerns over Russia's cheating.
The Obama administration accused Russia of violating the agreement in 2014, but ultimately chose to stay with the agreement. China, which is not party to the agreement, has formed an arsenal of missiles, some of which belong to the intermediate category. Conscious of this development, defense officials and experts have expressed concern that the United States has fallen behind, leading the Pentagon to seek its own capabilities now that the US is no longer in the treaty. Without any treaty in force, some fear that a new arms race can not take place, while others think that the treaty was dead when the Russians began to deceive years ago.
"This is an important step in the response to violations of Russia's treaty and in reinforcing conventional deterrence in Europe and Asia," said Matthew Kroenig, deputy director of strategy at Scowcroft Center Atlantic Council. Washington Examiner.
"Critics of the withdrawal of the INF Treaty said it was a mistake because Russia, but not the United States, has missiles in this area, so that Russia would derive a disproportionate advantage from the disappearance of the The test of today proves them the opposite.
But the Pentagon still has work to do in other areas of missile defense. Officials and lawmakers are concerned that the United States may not be sufficiently prepared to defend itself against a new generation of so-called hypersonic missiles, which are said to possess extreme speed and maneuverability that can defeat conventional defenses.
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