DoD photo by Scott Howe The US military conducted its first flight test of a ground-launched cruise missile in a test that would have been banned prior to the recent collapse of a Cold War-era nuclear arms agreement with Russia. After withdrawing from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty earlier this month, new Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in a statement that the "Department of Defense will fully pursue the development of these ground-launched conventional missiles," calling these moves a "prudent response to Russia's actions." Trump's new defense secretary has also said that the US is looking at developing these systems to counter China in the Pacific.