{"id":121451,"date":"2023-12-12T10:29:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T10:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogcamlodipine.com\/?p=121451"},"modified":"2023-12-12T10:29:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T10:29:07","slug":"us-unveils-100bn-monster-missile-20-times-the-size-of-hiroshima-bomb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogcamlodipine.com\/world-news\/us-unveils-100bn-monster-missile-20-times-the-size-of-hiroshima-bomb\/","title":{"rendered":"US unveils $100bn monster missile 20 times the size of Hiroshima bomb"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The US has unveiled a new hypersonic missile that carries a warhead 20 times the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War 2.<\/p>\n

Washington’s monster weapon is still being developed but will replace the Minuteman III missiles which are currently stationed in North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska.<\/p>\n

The new missile is called LGM-35 Sentinel, a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system.<\/p>\n

The weapon is being developed by Northrop Grumman on a contract worth \u00a310.6bn ($13.3bn) from the Department of the Air Force.<\/p>\n

Boeing was initially going to build the missile, but later pulled out.<\/p>\n

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The US’ Minuteman III was first deployed in 1970. The new missiles will be phased in over a 10-year period starting in the late 2020s.<\/p>\n

The LGM-Sentinel will cost an estimated \u00a3210bn ($264bn) over a 50-year life cycle.<\/p>\n

The Sentinel will carry a huge W87 Mod 1 (W87-1) thermonuclear warhead.<\/p>\n

The Minuteman III currently has a W78 warhead.<\/p>\n

US forces will test their new weapon at Hill Air Force Base, Utah and at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB), California.<\/p>\n

The missiles will be launched from the California base over the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n

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They will then conduct more testing at US Army Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, US Army Garrison\u2013Kwajalein Atoll and within the territorial waters of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.<\/p>\n

Secretary of Defence, Llyod Austin, has been an avid supporter of the new weapons programme.<\/p>\n

Backers of the new missile have warned that the upgrades are needed due to Russia and China’s efforts to develop new weapons.<\/p>\n

As reported by The Sun, Physicist David Wright, former co-director of the UCS Global Security Program says that submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) are just as accurate as land-based missiles, and are “virtually undetectable,” making intercontinental ballistic missiles redundant.<\/p>\n

Russia continues to pose a threat in Ukraine as Moscow’s forces throw thousands of men into the fighting.<\/p>\n

China has also threatened on numerous occasions to take military action against Taiwan as well as asserting control over the South China Sea.<\/p>\n