The test, which was successful, was carried out Sunday from the island of San Nicolas, off California, at 14:30 local time (21:30 GMT), said the Pentagon in a statement. "The missile tested has left its ground launch pad and accurately hit its target after more than 500 km of flight," said the US Department of Defense in a statement.
"The data collected and the lessons learned from this test will give the Ministry of Defense the necessary information for the development of new medium-range weapons," the Pentagon concludes in this brief statement.
The United States came out on August 2 of the treaty
The United States came out on August 2 of the INF disarmament treaty, which they accuse Moscow of having violated for years, paving the way for a new arms race directed against Russia, but especially against China. The same day, Defense Minister Mark Esper announced that the United States would now accelerate the development of new ground-to-air missiles.
"Now that we have withdrawn, the Ministry of Defense will fully pursue the development of these conventional surface-to-air missiles in a cautious response to Russia's actions," the minister said.
Searches since 2017
Mark Esper said the Americans had begun researching missile systems in 2017, while remaining within the scope of the INF Treaty on Intermediate Nuclear Forces.
The INF Treaty, which in the 1980s allowed the elimination of Russian SS20 and US Pershing missiles in the midst of the Euromissile crisis, abolished the use of a range of medium-range nuclear-capable missiles (from 500 to 5.500 km).
The missile tested Sunday is conventional, but any missile can, thereafter, be equipped with nuclear warhead.