US to Test INF-Range GLCM and Ballistic Missile


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According to unnamed U.S. defense officials, the United States plans to test fire a ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) with a range of about 1,000 km range in August, and a ballistic missile with a range of 3,000-4,000 km in November. The August test will reportedly put a Tomahawk cruise missile in a container that can be fixed to a mobile launcher. “We’ll actually launch it, and it’ll fly out, and we’ll prove the concept — that you can take a Tomahawk and put it on a truck,” said one senior defense official. The same official noted that if testing is successful, the ground-mobile Tomahawk could be deployed within 18 months. The INF-range ballistic missile scheduled to launch in November is a longer-term project, and will take at least five years before deploying with the Army. Both the GLCM and ballistic missile were previously banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, from which the United States and Russia announced their withdrawal in February. The Pentagon has included nearly $50 million in its FY2019 budget to begin work on the two missile systems.

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Shaan Shaikh, "US to Test INF-Range GLCM and Ballistic Missile," Missile Threat, Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 14, 2019, last modified March 14, 2019, https://missilethreat.csis.org/us-to-test-inf-range-glcm-and-ballistic-missile/.