Air Force successfully tests Minuteman III nuclear missile in midnight launch from California

The Air Force successfully tested an unarmed Minuteman III strategic nuclear missile in an unannounced post-midnight launch Wednesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Santa Barbara The missile chosen at random from those in alert in underground silos at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana and shipped to Vandenberg blasted off at a m and traveled miles to a test site near remote Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean The Air Force described the test as routine noting that more than similar tests have been conducted over the years This ICBM test launch underscores the strength of the nation s nuclear deterrent and the readiness of the ICBM leg of the triad revealed Gen Thomas Bussiere commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command This powerful safeguard is maintained by dedicated Airmen missileers defenders helicopter operators and the teams who aid them who ensure the protection of the nation and its allies he reported The Minuteman force of selected missiles is distributed among three Air Force bases in Montana North Dakota and Wyoming Each is armed with a single nuclear warhead approximately times as powerful as the bombs that ended World War II The aging missiles which were first deployed in the s are scheduled to be replaced the new Sentinel ICBM being built by Northrup Grumman in California