US Army to test-launch hypersonic nuclear missile after polls close

The US Army will conduct a test launch of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) hours after voting closes. The exercise will be conducted from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The missile, which will reach around 15,000 miles per hour, will fly from the base to Kwajalein, a small island located in the Pacific Ocean. A journey of about 4,200 miles and 22 minutes in duration.

Heightened tension with Russia and North Korea

This "routine" test launch, according to the US Army, comes at a time of heightened tension with Russia. Intelligence services warned of alleged attacks that the Kremlin had planned to perpetrate against planes headed for the United States.

Days before these indications, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov threatened Washington, D.C. with a "direct military conflict" due to the Biden-Harris Administration's push for Russian hatred.

"Under the current president, who pushed the spiral of Russophobia in the United States to the limit, our countries are on the brink of a direct military conflict," Lavrov noted.

On another front, tensions with North Korea also escalated after Kim Jong Un's regime sent troops to Russia for the open conflict in Ukraine.

"We repeat that we will always stand by our Russian comrades until the day of victory. There is no doubt that under the wise leadership of the eminent Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian army and people will achieve a great victory," North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said.