Air Force conducts first of two ICBM test launches this week

Posted on June 4, 2024 by Jenn Rowell

MINUTEMAN III TEST LAUNCH SHOWCASES READINESS OF U.S. NUCLEAR FORCE’S SAFE, EFFECTIVE DETERRENT - The Electric

The U.S. Air Force conducted a test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile on June 4 at 12:56 a.m. Pacific Time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

“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 to deter 21st century threats and reassure our allies. Such tests have occurred over 300 times before, and this test is not the result of current world events,” according to the Air Force Global Strike Command.

The ICBM’s 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 on the U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Two ICBM test launches scheduled next week

RTS sensors, including high-fidelity metric, signature radars and optical sensors and telemetry, support the research, development, test and evaluation of the U.S. defense and space programs. For these tests, RTS team members collect radar, optical and telemetry data in the terminal phase of flight to evaluate system performance, according to the Air Force.

The test launch is a culmination of months of preparation that involve multiple government partners.

Airmen from the all three missile wings were selected for the task force to support the test launch, and maintainers from 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, provided maintenance support.

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Maintainers from the 341st Missile Wing will support the next test launch scheduled for June 6.

The ICBM community includes the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Strategic Command. Those agencies use data collected from test launches for continuing force development evaluation.

“The ICBM test launch program demonstrates the operational capability of the Minuteman III and ensures the United States’ ability to maintain a strong, credible nuclear deterrent as a key element of U.S. national security and the security of U.S. allies and partners,” according to AFGSC.

The Air Force is currently in the process of replacing the Minuteman with the Sentinel LG-35A missile system.

It’s scheduled to have an initial capability in 2029 and until it reaches full capability in the mid-2030s ,the Air Force will continue using the Minuteman III system for nuclear deterrence.