Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a second delay of routine intercontinental ballistic missile tests to avoid provoking a Chinese reaction, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. This is the second time the routine test of the Minuteman III missile, referred to as a “Glory Trip” and used to assess the reliability of missiles, has been delayed this year, the WSJ reported. “The decision [to postpone] came in light and in context of the tensions that we’re seeing right now, and they’re pretty escalated,” Kirby said, according to Defense News. The delayed test would consist of an unarmed Minuteman III being fired from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, splashing down near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, Defense News reported. The delay to the test could be as short as 10 days, according to the the WSJ, citing anonymous U.S. officials.

Source: Wall Street Journal August 06, 2022 13:22 UTC