An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test reentry vehicle is launched Feb. 9, 2023, from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. (Rocio Romo/U.S. Space Force)
The Air Force on Thursday evening test fired an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from California into waters 4,200 miles away near the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, the service said.
The launch of the Minuteman III by a team from the Air Force Global Strike Command at Vandenberg Space Force Base was routine and “not the result of current world events,” the Air Force said Friday in a news release.
The launch was intended to test the accuracy and reliability of the missile’s “reentry vehicle” as it descended on Kwajalein Atoll, which is home to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, the Air Force said.
The Air Force has conducted more than 300 such tests, most recently in September.
Thursday’s launch, however, comes on the heels of tense relations with China over its surveillance balloon that traveled across the continental U.S. last week before an F-22 fighter jet shot it down off the East Coast on Feb. 4.
The ICBM test also came a day after a military parade in North Korea that showcased the largest number of long-range missiles ever displayed during such a procession there.
North Korea picked up the pace of missile testing last year, launching roughly 75 missiles.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a speech late last year called for an “exponential increase” in arms for its military.
Despite the routine nature of the Thursday launch, it was intended to convey a message of U.S. military might to any would-be adversary.
“A test launch displays the heart of our deterrence mission on the world’s stage, assuring our nation and its allies that our weapons are capable and our airmen are ready and willing to defend peace across the globe at a moment's notice,” Gen. Thomas Bussiere, who leads Air Force Global Strike Command, said in the news release.
Col. Christopher Cruise, commander of the 377th Test and Evaluation Group, said in the news release that the launch showcased the “reliability of our strategic deterrence systems while sending a visible message of assurance to allies.”
The Minuteman III missile is slated to be replaced by the LGM-35 Sentinel missile beginning in 2029.
The Sentinels would eventually replace all Minuteman III missiles, which are stationed in North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and Colorado.
