US tests 'Doomsday' ballistic missile, will it threaten Donald Trump's world peace?

The United States test fired a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) early Wednesday, November 5, days after President Donald Trump called for resumption of nuclear testing of America’s powerful weapons in more than 30 years.  The ICBM was launched from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base by the Air Force Global Strike Command.  

The missile completed a trajectory of 7,500 kilometers and hit its target near the near the Army’s Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site in the Marshall Islands with precision. Officials said that it was a regular reliability test done according to President Trump’s order. The US also plans to introduce new missiles by 2030. They also said that the nuclear test, which was done successfully, was codenamed GT 254 

 November 5, 2025

The US Air Force clarified that the launch was prescheduled months in advance. US’ nuclear testing programme has come into light ever since Donald Trump ordered Pentagon last week to prepare for nuclear weapons testing.   

“GT 254 is not just a launch – it's a comprehensive assessment to verify and validate the ICBM system's ability to perform its critical mission. The data collected is invaluable in ensuring continued reliability and accuracy,” said Lt. Col. Karrie Wray, commander of the 576th Flight Test Squadron. 

How powerful is Minuteman III? 

The Minuteman III is Cold War era ICBM, making it America’s oldest such missile which has been in service since the 1970s. It launches from land and has a strike precision of as far as 13,000 kilometres. Though Minuteman III is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, this test was unarmed. 

The United States currently has around 400 of these missiles, strengthening its defense against powerful countries such as Russia and China. The missile got this name because it can be launched within a minute. 

On the other hand, Trump pushed for global denuclearisation on Thursday while giving a warning of US being powerful enough to “blow up the world”.  “I think that denuclearisation would be a great thing. We could blow up the world 150 times. There's no need for this. I've spoken to President Putin about it, I've spoken to President Xi about it — and everybody would like to spend all that money on other things.” “I want peace all over the world,” Trump added.  

Talking about the nuclear tests ordered by President Trump, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said earlier this week that the US' nuclear testing programme will not involve nuclear explosions at this time, "I think the tests we’re talking about right now are system tests. These are not nuclear explosions. These are what we call non-critical explosions," Wright said in an interview with Fox News. He further said that the testing includes all the parts of a nuclear weapons barring the nuclear material to ensure their functioning and a nuclear blast.