US military tests unarmed nuclear missile on election night (video)

The US military test-fired another unarmed, nuclear-capable missile yesterday evening (November 6).

The launch took place on November 5 at 23:01 local time (2:01 EDT or 06:01 GMT on November 6) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. A team of U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy personnel oversaw the launch, which sent an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Vandenberg to the U.S. military's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site in the Marshall Islands, southeast of Japan .

Like all ICBMs, the rocket flew into space before re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. It is unknown how high the Minuteman III flew in this particular test because the U.S. military rarely releases such data. However, according to a U.S. Air Force data sheet, the Minuteman III has a maximum altitude of 700 miles (1,120 kilometers), which puts it well into low Earth orbit. For comparison, SpaceX's Starlink satellites have an orbit of about 342 miles (550 km).

An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test at 11:01 p.m. Pacific Time on Nov. 5, 2024, at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. (Image credit: US Space Force photo by Airman 1st Class Olga Houtsma)

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The rocket in the test was equipped with “multiple targetable re-entry vehicles,” according to a US Space Force statement, meaning it is capable of deploying independent warheads that are maneuverable as they make their way through the atmosphere to their targets. In this test, the rocket's reentry vehicles traveled approximately 4,200 miles (6,760 km) before hitting their targets at the Reagan Test Site in the remote Kwajalein Atoll.

The Minuteman III, manufactured by Boeing, was the world's first ICBM with multiple reentry vehicle capability (also known as a Multiple Independently-Targetable Reentry Vehicle, or MIRV), according to the National Museum of the US Air Force, and the first U.S.-made ICBM to be an ICBM Use solid propulsion system.

Related: How ICBMs Work (Infographic)

In the distance, several streaks of light fall from the sky

A long exposure photograph showing the paths of the multiple re-entry vehicles deployed by another ICBM, the LGM-118A Peacekeeper, in a separate test. (Image credit: US Army)

The command to launch the missile was sent from aboard a U.S. Navy-operated Boeing E-6B Mercury aircraft equipped with the Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS). This system allows ALCS aircraft crews to fire missiles in the air even when ground-based launch control centers are disabled and serves as a “last line of defense and redundancy program for the nation's nuclear command and control,” according to a U.S. Air Force statement. Opinion.

U.S. Space Force leaders praised the success of the test and the personnel who made it possible. “This test launch of Minuteman III was an example of the readiness, agility and professionalism of Vandenberg, Global Strike Command and U.S. Navy personnel,” Col. Dorian Hatcher, deputy commander of Space Launch Delta 30, said in the U.S. statement Space Force.

“Each test of this deterrent system at Vandenberg underscores the country’s robust capabilities and underscores the vital support our Airmen and Guardsmen provide to ensure national security.”

While the test came just days after North Korea's recent ICBM launch, which saw the reclusive country's rockets reach a record altitude, the Space Force statement said the test was the “culmination of months of preparation.”

The US military tested two more Minuteman III missiles in June 2024 and launched them within two days. Such tests are conducted regularly to deter America's adversaries and ensure that the country's nuclear arsenal is reliable and ready for use.

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