ICBM successfully test launched at Vandenberg

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. — The U.S. Air Force testing group responsible for evaluating ground-based nuclear weapon systems launched an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from California early Wednesday.

A Minuteman III missile, chosen randomly from the U.S. arsenal, was disarmed of nuclear material before being transported by truck to Vandenberg Space Force Base on the coast near Santa Barbara. Over a monthslong preparation period, the missile was equipped with telemetry and redundant navigation and tracking systems, delivering data to ground-based sensors throughout the flight.

After a two-hour delay to assure the missile’s flight path was clear, the launch proceeded successfully at 1 a.m., when the ICBM launched from a site overlooking the beach into the clouds, across the Pacific Ocean to land at a test site at Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Fully armed, the missile can carry three nuclear warheads to targets at a distance of more than 6,000 miles, reaching speeds of 15,000 mph and a flight ceiling of 700 miles— or into the exosphere, the outer layer of the atmosphere — per the Air Force. The ground-based system is one leg of a nuclear triad, including missiles that launch from submarines and bombs dropped from the air. The Minuteman missiles are located at Air Force installations in Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota.

The test was conducted by the 377th Test and Evaluation Group based at Vandenberg and part of the 377th Air Base Wing headquartered at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque. The Kirtland installation commander, Col. Michael Power, watched the launch from an outdoor observation area overlooking the site with other officers, airmen and guests, as well as a small group of journalists.

Despite light fog, observers had a clear view as the missile slowly disappeared into the distance with a deep, growling rumble.

On a guided tour of the testing range ahead of the launch, Air Force officials emphasized repeatedly that these tests, occurring three times a year, are the product of ongoing, cyclical training and evaluation of the system supporting the Minuteman. The technology has been in use for more than 50 years and subjected to more than 300 tests similar to Wednesday’s.

The test involved coordination with multiple branches of the Armed Forces and federal agencies, with routine notification of the test provided to the Russian Federation.

The Department of Defense is planning to replace the Minuteman with the newer Sentinel missile in a timeframe measuring over a decade.

Officers also stressed that the test flights are scheduled five years in advance and are never performed in response to recent world events.

“The primary purpose is … that we have confidence in our methods and our systems,” Gen. Thomas Bussiere, the Air Force Global Strike Commander, said in an interview with the Journal at the test group’s headquarters Tuesday night. “It’s a mammoth effort that goes on constantly.”

Additionally, the test flight “is just one of the ways the Department of the Air Force demonstrates the readiness, precision and the professionalism of U.S. nuclear forces,” acting Air Force Secretary Gary Ashworth said in a written statement. “It also provides confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrence mission.”