AFGSC holds test of unarmed Minuteman III

U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command said Wednesday it conducted a routine reliability flight test of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile at 1 a.m. Pacific time from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.

As in previous tests, the reentry vehicle traveled about 4,200 miles to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Kwajalein Atoll.

In November, the Department of the Air Force tested multiple warheads on Minuteman III.

On Wednesday, Vandenberg’s 377th Test and Evaluation Group, DoD’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test organization, “collected and analyzed performance and other key data points to evaluate current missile system competencies,” Col. Dustin Harmon, the group commander, said in an Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) statement. “This allows our team to analyze and report accuracy and reliability for the current system while validating projected missile system improvements. The data we collect and analyze is crucial for maintaining Minuteman III while we pave the way for Sentinel.”

The Boeing Minuteman III, which uses the W78 and W87 warheads, is to be replaced by the Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel in the mid- to late-2030s.

A version of this story was first published by Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily.