US Air Force test launches 2nd unarmed ICBM this month from Vandenberg
The U.S. Air Force has launched an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from California in the second such test this month.
An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test on Thursday May 9, 2019, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. (Photo by USAF Airman 1st Class Hanah Abercrombie/Vandenberg Air Force Base via AP)
A Minutemen 3 missile roared out of a silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base at 12:40 a.m. Thursday, carrying a test reentry vehicle.
The Global Strike Command says in a press release that the reentry vehicle traveled 4,200 miles (6,759 kilometers) over the Pacific to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
The US Air Force says tests verify the accuracy of the system, demonstrate a robust nuclear deterrent but are not a reaction to world events.
A similar launch was conducted May 1 at Vandenberg on the coast northwest of Los Angeles.
Both launches were conducted by airmen from the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.
Source: The Associated Press – Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. | 10 May 2019
Adams Barret (USA XairForces Editor)
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