Airmen from Malmstrom Air Force Base were among a joint team of Air Force Global Strike Command personnel who launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile early Wednesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, military officials said.
The missile was equipped with a single telemetered joint test assembly reentry vehicle, Air Force officials said, adding the test launch is part of routine activities to show the United States' nuclear deterrent remains effective in deterring 21st-century threats and reassuring allies.
Acting Secretary of the Air Force Gary Ashworth said the test "provides confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrence mission.”
The test comes as the Air Force is planning to replace all Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles with Sentinel ICBMs.
The Sentinel project includes modernizing launch facilities, control centers and other ground infrastructure throughout central Montana.
The program will modernize the old Minuteman III nuclear defense system with new rockets, warheads and technology across Malmstrom Air Force Base’s 13,800-square-mile missile complex where the 341st Missile Wing is located. The project is expected to involve around 3,000 temporary workers, operating out of two construction facilities near Great Falls and Lewistown. Work could start in 2026, officials said last year.
Wyoming’s F.E. Warren Air Force Base and its missile fields stretching into Nebraska and northern Colorado are slated first to undergo renovations and replacements. Attention would shift to Montana, possibly in 2027, if the Wyoming tasks stay on schedule. Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota would be the third and final step in the 450-silo reload, Air Force officials said in March.
Airmen from all three missile wings were on a task force to support Wednesday's test launch, Air Force officials said. An Air Force video about the launch said the missile was transported more than 1,300 miles from Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming to California and reassembled.
A Malmstrom public affairs official said Wednesday it had sent two Missile Combat Crew members (aka "missileers") to participate in the launch. He also said the next test launch at Vandenberg, which is May 21, will involve a missile selected from Montana.
"That’s always a moment of pride for Malmstrom and local community," John Turner said in an email. "Our missile maintenance technicians will be very active in the process, including preparing the missile for launch at Vandenberg Space Force Base."
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 the Republic of the Marshall Islands at the Kwajalein Atoll, officials said.
The test collected and analyzed performance and other key data points to evaluate current missile system competencies, Col. Dustin Harmon, 377th TEG commander, said in a news release.
“This allows our team to analyze and report accuracy and reliability for the current system while validating projected missile system improvements,” he said. “The data we collect and analyze is crucial for maintaining Minuteman III while we pave the way for Sentinel.”
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