Air Force Global Strike Command and the U.S. Navy launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from aboard the airborne launch control system at 11:01 p.m. Pacific Time Nov. 5 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The unarmed missile was equipped targetable reentry vehicle.

Airmen from the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron out of Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, were aboard the U.S. Navy E-6B Mercury aircraft “to demonstrate the reliability and effectiveness of the ALCS system,” according to AFGSC.

Air Force conducting unarmed ICBM test launch on Nov. 5

“This test launch is part of routine and periodic activities intended to demonstrate that the U.S. 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 AFGSC.

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 located within Republic of the Marshall Islands at the Kwajalein Atoll, according to AFGSC.

Sensors at the test side include including high-fidelity metric and signature radars, as well as 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 AFGSC.

Air Force conducts first of two ICBM test launches this week

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

For the test launches, missiles are pulled from the missile field at one of the three ICBM bases and transported to Vandenberg. There, crews from the missile bases place the missile in a silo and conduct a test launch.

This launch will use a missile and crews from the 91st Missile Wing at Minot AFB in North Dakota.

ICBM test launch terminated [2023]

The Operations Task Force includes personnel from all there missile wings, including Malmstrom AFB; the 377th Test and Evaluation Group at Vandenberg and the 626th Strategic Operations Squadron from Offutt AFB, according to AFGSC.

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

The LG-35A Sentinel will replace the Minuteman III ICBM with an initial capability of 2029. Until full capability is achieved in the mid-2030s, the Air Force is committed to ensuring Minuteman III remains a viable deterrent.