A team from the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., according to an AFGSC press release.
The missile was equipped with a “single Mark-21 High Fidelity Re-entry Vehicle,” the release said. The re-entry vehicle traveled around 4,200 miles from the Vandenberg base to a test site in the Marshall Islands.
The test launch was overseen by Vandenberg’s 377th Test and Evaluation Group, which oversaw other Minuteman III tests in the past.
“This ICBM test launch underscores the strength of the nation’s nuclear deterrent and the readiness of the ICBM leg of the triad,” Gen. Thomas Bussiere, AFGSC’s commander, said in the release. “This powerful safeguard is maintained by dedicated Airmen – missileers, defenders, helicopter operators and the teams who supports them – who ensure the security of the nation and its allies.”
AFGSC and Vanderberg Space Force Base recently did a Minuteman III test launch Feb. 19 as well. In November, the missile was launched with three test warheads.
The ground-based Boeing Minuteman III, which uses the W78 and W87 warheads, is set to be replaced by the Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel, a nuclear-tipped missile, in the mid- to late-2030s. The last Minuteman III is set to be decommissioned by 2050 or later, an AFGSC leader told the Exchange Monitor in January.
