The Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen and Navy aircrew have conducted a demonstration of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 5 at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The Air Force said Wednesday the joint team launched an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from the Airborne Launch Control System, or ALCS. The test launch was conducted to determine the ICBM’s operational capability and the reliability and effectiveness of the ALCS. It was also intended to assess the effectiveness of the United States’ nuclear deterrent in tackling modern threats.
Minuteman III ICBM Test
During the test launch, members of the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron based at Offutt Air Force Base were aboard the U.S. Navy E-6B Mercury. The Minuteman III missile, equipped with multiple targetable re-entry vehicles, traveled approximately 4,200 miles to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Reagan Test Site sensors were utilized during the demonstration to collect radar, optical and telemetry data in the terminal phase of flight. The data were then used to assess the system’s performance. Furthermore, the collected data collected will be used by the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and U.S. Strategic Command to evaluate force development.
“These tests are demonstrative of what Striker Airmen bring to the fight if called by the president,” said Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, commander of AFGSC. “An airborne launch validates the survivability of our ICBMs, which serve as the strategic backstop of our nation’s defense and defense of allies and partners.”
