A new launch test of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile has been completed for another routine check on the weapon’s capabilities in deterring current security threats, the U.S. Air Force announced Wednesday. The periodic test, also designed to assure allies on U.S. nuclear readiness, is focused on demonstrating Minuteman III’s safety, security and reliability, the service branch added.
The ICBM community using the data gathered from the tests include the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and U.S. Strategic Command in their continuing force development analyses.
Combined elements of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen and Vandenberg Space Force Base Guardians performed the recent test at the Vandenberg SFB’s Western Range. The joint team launched an unarmed Minuteman III missile, with the base’s 377th Test and Evaluation Group overseeing the exercise.
Data Inputs for Future ICBM Upgrades
According to Col. Dustin Harmon, commander of the 377th TEG, the key data points that they gathered from the test are useful not only in assessing the current system’s reliability but also in validating planned ICBM force upgrades. “The data we collect and analyze is crucial for maintaining Minuteman III while we pave the way for Sentinel,” he pointed out.
The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center is currently working on a program to replace Minuteman III with the LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM, as part of the modernization plan for the land-based component of the U.S. nuclear triad.
Northrop Grumman is one of the companies with a stake in the Sentinel program, with the company already completing in 2024 multiple tests as part of the new ICBM’s engineering, manufacturing and development phase.
