The U.S. Air Force carried out a planned launch of an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can hold a nuclear warhead, as announced by the military on Wednesday morning.
The LGM-30G Minuteman III missile was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time, the Air Force said.
The missile, which was unarmed and fitted with a single Mark-21 High Fidelity Re-Entry Vehicle, sped at 15,000 mph to a testing area near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, approximately 4,200 miles from where it was launched, according to the military.
“This ICBM test launch highlights the robustness of the nation’s nuclear deterrence and the preparedness of the ICBM component of the triad,” stated Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command.
“This test launch is part of routine and periodic activities designed to demonstrate that the United States’ nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure, reliable and effective in deterring 21st-century threats and reassuring our allies,” the Air Force said.
Military officials said the launch was a routine test, and not in response to current world events. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jack Rodriguez Escamilla)
The Minuteman weapon system is a program that first became operational in the early 1970s, and has received enhancements over the course of nearly 60 years, the military said.
The Air Force now plans to replace the aging Minuteman with the modernized Sentinel system.
