Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Test Launched in the USA

On 21 May, an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) equipped with a single Mark-21 High Fidelity Re-Entry Vehicle was launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. It traveled approximately 6,800 km to the Ronald Reagan Missile Defense Test Site located in the Republic of the Marshall Islands on Kwajalein Atoll.

During the launch, the team members on the test field collected radar, optical and telemetry data in the terminal phase of flight to evaluate system performance. Vandenberg’s 377th Test and Evaluation Group oversaw the test launch. It is the nation’s only dedicated ICBM test organization professionally executing tests that accurately measure the current and future capability of the ICBM force.

This test launch is part of routine and periodic activities designed to demonstrate that the United States’ nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure, reliable and effective in deterring 21st-century threats.