The U.S. Air Force tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) just after 11pm PT on March 3.
During these tests, which occur several times a year, ICBMs taken from silos in the Great Plains are launched from the Vandenberg base near Lompoc, Calif., and aimed at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Activists with the Defuse Nuclear War coalition will gather near Vandenberg Space Force Base to witness and protest the test.
The protesters have issued the following statement:
ICBM test-launches normalize the missiles and nuclear weapons in general as part of global politics, rather than the reality: they are unimaginably expensive, politically unpopular, and very dangerous. We ask that the upcoming ICBM test, and all future scheduled tests, be canceled, and that the U.S. commit to not testing nuclear weapons.
While the Air Force statement asserts that the test “was scheduled years ago, and is not in response to world events,” this launch in fact follows an established pattern of ICBM tests conducted at moments of high tension, such as the test that occurred on the night of Election Day in 2024. Conducting an ICBM test in the midst of an unprovoked U.S. attack on Iran is another level of irresponsibility entirely. The timing of the test further underscores the U.S. willingness to use threats and force without considering the consequences of its actions. When tensions are high, each test carries an added risk of misinterpretation. The U.S. acknowledged this by pausing these launches at high points of tension during the war in Ukraine. The risk of nuclear escalation remains too high to introduce the added risk that a test is misinterpreted as nuclear use.
ICBMs are an immediate threat to public safety. Once launched, an ICBM cannot be recalled, virtually guaranteeing a retaliatory strike on the country that launches them and placing impossible pressure on decisionmakers. As long as ICBMs exist, we live with the constant risk that misinterpreted intelligence, human error, or a single rash decision could end civilization as we know it within an hour.
Maintaining these weapons is a huge waste of resources. The U.S. has committed to spending hundreds of billions of dollars to replace its ICBM force under the mandate of modernization. The ICBM program is now at least 81% over budget and years behind schedule, with parts of the program now paused entirely. Test launches also damage human communities and ecosystems. The Marshall Islands, already forced to bear the overwhelming environmental costs of U.S. nuclear weapons testing, are still used as a target for these tests.
A policy of preemptive war and nuclear saber rattling can only yield more conflict. We demand that the U.S. end its illegal and unjustified attack on Iran, end nuclear weapons-related testing, and pursue policies that keep us truly safe from endless war.
Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with interview requests and for more information.
The protesters have issued the following statement:
ICBM test-launches normalize the missiles and nuclear weapons in general as part of global politics, rather than the reality: they are unimaginably expensive, politically unpopular, and very dangerous. We ask that the upcoming ICBM test, and all future scheduled tests, be canceled, and that the U.S. commit to not testing nuclear weapons.
While the Air Force statement asserts that the test “was scheduled years ago, and is not in response to world events,” this launch in fact follows an established pattern of ICBM tests conducted at moments of high tension, such as the test that occurred on the night of Election Day in 2024. Conducting an ICBM test in the midst of an unprovoked U.S. attack on Iran is another level of irresponsibility entirely. The timing of the test further underscores the U.S. willingness to use threats and force without considering the consequences of its actions. When tensions are high, each test carries an added risk of misinterpretation. The U.S. acknowledged this by pausing these launches at high points of tension during the war in Ukraine. The risk of nuclear escalation remains too high to introduce the added risk that a test is misinterpreted as nuclear use.
ICBMs are an immediate threat to public safety. Once launched, an ICBM cannot be recalled, virtually guaranteeing a retaliatory strike on the country that launches them and placing impossible pressure on decisionmakers. As long as ICBMs exist, we live with the constant risk that misinterpreted intelligence, human error, or a single rash decision could end civilization as we know it within an hour.
Maintaining these weapons is a huge waste of resources. The U.S. has committed to spending hundreds of billions of dollars to replace its ICBM force under the mandate of modernization. The ICBM program is now at least 81% over budget and years behind schedule, with parts of the program now paused entirely. Test launches also damage human communities and ecosystems. The Marshall Islands, already forced to bear the overwhelming environmental costs of U.S. nuclear weapons testing, are still used as a target for these tests.
A policy of preemptive war and nuclear saber rattling can only yield more conflict. We demand that the U.S. end its illegal and unjustified attack on Iran, end nuclear weapons-related testing, and pursue policies that keep us truly safe from endless war.
Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with interview requests and for more information.
