VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile has been launched from a U.S. Air Force Base in California on a flight to a target in the Pacific Ocean.

The missile lifted off at 12:03 a.m. Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

An Air Force statement said the mission was part of a program to test the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system.

The 30th Space Wing commander, Col. John Moss, said Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of the U.S. nuclear force and to demonstrate the national nuclear capabilities.

In a Minuteman test, a so-called re-entry vehicle travels more than 4,000 miles downrange to a target at Kwajalein Atoll near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

“Team V is once again ready to work with Air Force Global Strike Command to successfully launch another Minuteman III missile,” Moss said. “These Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of our national nuclear force and to demonstrate our national nuclear capabilities. We are proud of our long history in partnering with the men and women of the 576th Flight Test Squadron to execute these missions for the nation.”

The 576th Flight Test Squadron will be responsible for installed tracking, telemetry, and command destruct systems on the missile. </s> VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) - An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile has been launched from a U.S. Air Force Base in California on a flight to a target in the Pacific Ocean.

The missile lifted off at 12:03 a.m. Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

An Air Force statement said the mission was part of a program to test the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system.

The 30th Space Wing commander, Col. John Moss, said Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of the U.S. nuclear force and to demonstrate the national nuclear capabilities.

In a Minuteman test, a so-called re-entry vehicle travels more than 4,000 miles downrange to a target at Kwajalein Atoll near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

"Team V is once again ready to work with Air Force Global Strike Command to successfully launch another Minuteman III missile," Moss said. "These Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of our national nuclear force and to demonstrate our national nuclear capabilities. We are proud of our long history in partnering with the men and women of the 576th Flight Test Squadron to execute these missions for the nation."

The 576th Flight Test Squadron will be responsible for installed tracking, telemetry, and command destruct systems on the missile. </s> VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile has been launched from a U.S. Air Force Base in California on a flight to a target in the Pacific Ocean.

The missile lifted off at 12:03 a.m. Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

An Air Force statement said the mission was part of a program to test the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system.

The 30th Space Wing commander, Col. John Moss, said Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of the U.S. nuclear force and to demonstrate the national nuclear capabilities.

In a Minuteman test, a so-called re-entry vehicle travels more than 4,000 miles downrange to a target at Kwajalein Atoll near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

"Team V is once again ready to work with Air Force Global Strike Command to successfully launch another Minuteman III missile," Moss said. "These Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of our national nuclear force and to demonstrate our national nuclear capabilities. We are proud of our long history in partnering with the men and women of the 576th Flight Test Squadron to execute these missions for the nation."

The 576th Flight Test Squadron will be responsible for installed tracking, telemetry, and command destruct systems on the missile. </s> VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — The U.S. Air Force has successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in the latest test on the Southern California coast.

The unarmed Minuteman 3 missile was launched Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

It was the first such test this year. The most recent was last August. A launch planned for February was postponed.

The Air Force says the test was to check the readiness, effectiveness and accuracy of the weapons system.

Minuteman missiles are regularly tested with launches from Vandenberg that send unarmed re-entry vehicles to a target area in the middle of the Pacific. </s> VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile has been launched from a U.S. Air Force Base in California on a flight to a target in the Pacific Ocean.

The missile lifted off at 12:03 a.m. Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

An Air Force statement said the mission was part of a program to test the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system.

The 30th Space Wing commander, Col. John Moss, said Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of the U.S. nuclear force and to demonstrate the national nuclear capabilities.

In a Minuteman test, a so-called re-entry vehicle travels more than 4,000 miles downrange to a target at Kwajalein Atoll near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

“Team V is once again ready to work with Air Force Global Strike Command to successfully launch another Minuteman III missile,” Moss said. “These Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of our national nuclear force and to demonstrate our national nuclear capabilities. We are proud of our long history in partnering with the men and women of the 576th Flight Test Squadron to execute these missions for the nation.”

The 576th Flight Test Squadron will be responsible for installed tracking, telemetry, and command destruct systems on the missile.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> The US Air Force on Wednesday test launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, officials said.

[WASHINGTON] The US Air Force on Wednesday test launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, officials said.

According to a statement from Air Force Global Strike Command, the missile took off at 5.26am (12:26 GMT) and was successful.

"A reliable test launch occurs when a test missile launches, completes its flight path within a designated safety corridor, the equipment functions properly, sensor data is collected, and the test reentry vehicle impacts where targeted," the statement read.

"Though the reentry vehicle reached its intended target, the test and analysis data is not releasable to the public."

sentifi.com Market voices on:

Officials said the test had been scheduled three to five years ago, and this is the first such launch this year.

Decades after the Cold War, the United States still fields hundreds of Minuteman III ICBMs, dotted in silos across rural America.

Over the next 20 years, the Air Force will switch out the entirety of its Minuteman III fleet with a new missile known currently known as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD).

AFP </s> Deployed from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the missile traveled roughly 4,200 miles to a test range near the Marshall Islands.

An Air Force statement called the test "an important demonstration of our nation's nuclear deterrent capability."

The test launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from the Airborne Launch Control System on a Navy E-6 Mercury jet, according to the Air Force.

The US regularly tests its intercontinental weapon system to verify its accuracy and reliability -- with launches scheduled long in advance, according to defense officials.

But while the Air Force has conducted a similar missile test as recently as February 7, Wednesday's launch is notable in that it occurred amid rising tensions and military flexing over North Korea's own nuclear program. The Minuteman III is traditionally known as the only land-based leg to the US nuclear triad. But Wednesday's test highlighted the Air Force's ability to also launch the intercontinental ballistic missile from controls in an aircraft -- a measure primarily used in a back-up role in case another deployment system fails. "Today's test launch used an intercontinental ballistic missile pulled randomly from a silo on F.E. Warren Air Force Base, which was then transported and reassembled at Vandenberg, and launched by crew members," the Air Force statement said. The other two parts of the triad are the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile and nuclear weapons carried by long-range strategic bombers. First deployed in the 1960s as part of the U.S. nuclear deterrent program, the Minuteman system is supposed to ensure that missiles can be launched quickly and at any time. Missiles are dispersed in silos and connected to an underground launch control where crews are on standby around the clock. The United States currently has 450 Minutemen III missiles in silos at Warren AFB, Malmstrom AFB in Montana and Minot AFB in North Dakota, according to the Air Force </s> Test was an unarmed Minuteman III missile from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base to an undisclosed location in the Pacific Ocean

The U.S. Air Force launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile of the year Wednesday in a successful test of the weapons system.

 The launch, which began at 5:26 a.m. PDT, sent an unarmed Minuteman III missile from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base to an undisclosed location in the Pacific Ocean.

The Air Force says the test – the first since last August after a February launch was postponed – was aimed at verifying the readiness, effectiveness and accuracy of the system.

 The launch follows the announcement from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this month that Pyongyang would suspend its nuclear and missile tests. </s> WASHINGTON, D.C. — The US Air Force test-fired an unarmed long-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon, Wednesday, according to the Air Force Global Strike Command.

Deployed from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the missile traveled roughly 4,200 miles to a test range near the Marshall Islands.

An Air Force statement called the test “an important demonstration of our nation’s nuclear deterrent capability.”

The test launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from the Airborne Launch Control System on a Navy E-6 Mercury jet, according to the Air Force.

The US regularly tests its intercontinental weapon system to verify its accuracy and reliability — with launches scheduled long in advance, according to defense officials.

But while the Air Force has conducted a similar missile test as recently as February 7, Wednesday’s launch is notable in that it occurred amid rising tensions and military flexing over North Korea’s own nuclear program.

The Minuteman III is traditionally known as the only land-based leg to the US nuclear triad. But Wednesday’s test highlighted the Air Force’s ability to also launch the intercontinental ballistic missile from controls in an aircraft — a measure primarily used in a back-up role in case another deployment system fails.

“Today’s test launch used an intercontinental ballistic missile pulled randomly from a silo on F.E. Warren Air Force Base, which was then transported and reassembled at Vandenberg, and launched by crew members,” the Air Force statement said.

The other two parts of the triad are the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile and nuclear weapons carried by long-range strategic bombers.

First deployed in the 1960s as part of the U.S. nuclear deterrent program, the Minuteman system is supposed to ensure that missiles can be launched quickly and at any time.

Missiles are dispersed in silos and connected to an underground launch control where crews are on standby around the clock.

The United States currently has 450 Minutemen III missiles in silos at Warren AFB, Malmstrom AFB in Montana and Minot AFB in North Dakota, according to the Air Force.
The United States Air Force tests a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The missile test is considered to be successful.