A joint team of Air Force Global Strike Command airmen launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a single telemetered joint test assembly re-entry vehicle Feb. 19 at 1 a.m. Pacific Time from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.

The Western Range at Vandenberg is the primary testing ground for the Air Force Global Strike Command’s ICBM deterrent architecture.

Test launches are routine and AFGSC typically conducts several annually, which are planned well in advance, to demonstrate that the U.S. nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure, reliable and effective in deterring 21st-century threats and reassuring our allies, according to AFGSC.

With more than 300 similar tests conducted in the past, this particular test is part of the nation’s ongoing commitment to maintaining a credible deterrent and is not a response to current world events.

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“Today’s Minuteman III test launch is just one of the ways the Department of the Air Force demonstrates the readiness, precision and professionalism of U.S. nuclear forces,” Acting Secretary of the Air Force Gary Ashworth said in a release. “It also provides confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrence mission.”

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.

For this launch, airmen from all three missile wings were selected for the task force to support the test launch, while maintainers from the 90th Missile Wing Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Force Base, Wyo., supported maintenance requirements.

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. Reagan Test Site sensors, including high-fidelity metric and signature radars, as well as optical sensors and telemetry, support the research, development, test and evaluation of America’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.

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The Reagan Test Site supports all ICBM test launches, according to U.S. Army Lt. Col. Casey Rumfelt, RTS range director.

“It’s a vital national asset used to support operational and developmental tests of our nation’s offensive and defensive systems. RTS provides a unique suite of instrumentation and an ideal geographic location to meet many of the U.S. testing needs that cannot be accomplished anywhere else in the world,” Rumfelt said in a release.

Vandenberg’s 377th Test and Evaluation Group, the nation’s only dedicated ICBM test organization, oversaw the test launch.

“During this test, we collected and analyzed performance and other key data points to evaluate current missile system competencies,” Col. Dustin Harmon, 377th commander, said in a release. “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 test launch is a culmination of months of preparation involving multiple government partners.

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“The nuclear triad is the cornerstone of the national security of our country and allies around the globe,” AFGSC Commander Gen. Thomas Bussiere said in a release.

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 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.

In accordance with standard procedures, the United States transmitted a pre-launch notification pursuant to the Hague Code of Conduct, and notified the Russian government in advance, per our existing bilateral obligations, according to AFGSC.

The Air Force is currently in the process of replacing the Minuteman with the Sentinel LG-35A missile system and until it’s fully operational, the Air Force will continue using the Minuteman III system for nuclear deterrence.