Unarmed Minuteman III missile test launched from Vandenberg SFB early Wednesday

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (KEYT) – An unarmed, intercontinental ballistic missile launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, May 20.

The routine test, designated GT 256, of the Minuteman III was to ensure the platform's operational availability and was scheduled years in advance shared Air Force Global Strike Command in a press release ahead of the test launch.

"This launch allows us to authenticate the complete performance profile of the Minuteman III," explained Lt. Col. Karrie Wray, commander of the 576th Flight Test Squadron. "It confirms the precision of the system, ensuring the reentry vehicle can be delivered to its target with pinpoint accuracy."

The Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) weapon system has been in service in the United State's nuclear arsenal since the late 1970s and is one of hundreds of Minuteman III missiles that make up the nation's ground-based nuclear deterrence infrastructure as part of a trio of launch platforms that, "underwrites every U.S. military operation on the globe—it is the backstop and foundation of our national defense and that of our allies," detailed the U.S. Air Force's Nuclear Weapons Center.

The last Minuteman III test launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base was in early March of this year.

"Our ability to conduct these rigorous, realistic tests is foundational to our national security," Gen. S.L. Davis, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command stated. "This launch verifies the health and readiness of our ICBM [Intercontinental Ballistic Missile] force, confirming the capability of every component of the ICBM enterprise, from our operators to the weapon system itself, to execute the mission."

As with prior Minuteman III test launches, the missile was equipped with a telemetry package as it traveled about 4,200 miles to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands confirmed the Air Force's Global Strike Command.

That end-to-end launch telemetry data is shared with U.S. Strategic Command as well as the Department of Defense and Department of Energy noted the Air Force's Global Strike Command.

"These operational tests are the most visible and vital way we verify the readiness of our systems," shared Col. Dustin Harmon, 377th Test and Evaluation Group commander. "More importantly, they are a direct reflection of the unmatched skill and dedication of the Airmen in our missile community who ensure this critical mission is a success every single day."

While these tests confirm the viability of launching the aging system, Your News Channel reported last year that Vandenberg Space Force Base was beginning the process to replace the Minuteman III platform with the new Northrup Grumman-developed LGM-35A Sentinel.