Trucks Are Parked Over Air Force Nuclear Missile Silos During A Simulated Electronic Launch Of Minuteman Missiles At Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.

 

Warzone/The Drive: Trucks Get Parked Over Air Force Nuclear Missile Silos During Tests… Just In Case 

It may seem bizarre and even redundant, but the semi-truck barrier serves as the very last safety precaution against an accidental launch. 

The U.S. Air Force’s latest Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system test at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, included a semi-truck parked over the silo, an added precaution to absolutely rule out an accidental launch. This seemingly crude measure is a routine part of these ICBM tests, codenamed Giant Pace, which evaluates the reliability of the land-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad. 

One of the most recent such tests, which are referred to as SELMs, standing for Simulated Electronic Launch-Minuteman III, was Giant Pace 21-1. This took place at Minot’s Golf 8 launch facility on April 7. These take place every two years and run through the whole process for readying an LGM-30G Minuteman III missile to fire, except for the actual launch. After the launch command is issued, the key in the launch control center is turned, and the door to the missile silo slides open. At that point, the exercise ends.  

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WNU Editor: If parking semis over missile silos keeps us safe during a test, so be it.