The US Air Force executed a routine launch of unarmed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) on Wednesday morning, as reported by the military.
The LGM-30G Minuteman III missile took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:01 AM Pacific time. This particular missile, which was not armed, carried a single Mark 21 high-fidelity re-entry vehicle and reached speeds of 15,000 mph towards a test range near Kwajaraine Atoll in the Marshall Islands, roughly 4,200 miles away from where it was launched.
General Thomas Bouccière, the commander of Air Force Global Strike, remarked that this ICBM test underscores the nation’s nuclear deterrence capabilities and the readiness of its Triad ICBM legs.
A “triad” refers to the three systems the US military has in place for delivering nuclear weapons: land-based ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
The Air Force emphasized that this test was routine and “not a response to current global events,” noting that over 300 similar tests have been conducted previously. They stated, “The launch of this test is part of a routine and regular activity designed to demonstrate that the US nuclear deterrent is safe, secure, reliable, and effective to deter the threat of the 21st century and to reassure allies.”
The Minuteman program has been operational since the early 1970s and has seen enhancements over nearly six decades, according to military sources. Currently, the Air Force plans to replace the aging Minuteman system with a more modernized Sentinel system.
