The United States tested an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday, the country’s military said.
“This test launch is part of routine and periodic activities intended to demonstrate that the United States’ nuclear deterrent is safe, secure, reliable and effective,” the US Air Force Global Strike Command said in a statement.
An operational test launch of an Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 6, at 1:26 a.m. PT.#MinutemanIII #SafeSecureReady #GT247 pic.twitter.com/L1Jbk2XCQs
— Vandenberg Space Force Base (@SLDelta30) September 6, 2023
“Such tests have occurred over 300 times before, and this test is not the result of current world events,” it added.
The Pentagon said ahead of the early Wednesday launch at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California that the test had been scheduled for years and that Russia’s government was informed of the plans.
The Minuteman III has been in service for 50 years, and is currently the only land-based ICBM in the US nuclear arsenal, which also includes Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons carried by strategic bomber aircraft.
