Air Force Tests Minuteman III Missile in California

The Air Force on Wednesday tested an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile known as the Minuteman III at a military base in California, CBS News reports.

The missile, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, carried three test reentry vehicles along its approximately 4,200-mile journey from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, Air Force Global Strike Command announced in a press release.

"The men and women of Air Force Global Strike Command comprise two-thirds of our nation's nuclear triad, and they stand constant vigil to ensure our national defense," Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, said in a statement. "Test launches validate our deterrence capabilities to the American public and to our allies. The missile community is comprised of our country's finest Airmen, and I have no doubt in their ability to support our most important mission across the Department of Defense."

According to the Air Force, test launches such as this one help to "verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system, providing valuable data to ensure a continued safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent."

Vandenberg Space Force Base previously announced the test launch in a statement that noted it had been planned years in advance and was carried out according to the standard procedures of the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation.

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