The Latest: Test missile launched from California coast

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The Latest on the test launch of an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from the California coast. (all times local):

2:30 am

The U.S. Air Force has successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in a test on the California coast.

The unarmed Minuteman 3 missile was launched Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

It was the fourth such test this year. The most recent was in May.

The Air Force says the test was to check the readiness, effectiveness and accuracy of the weapons system.

Minuteman missiles are regularly tested with launches from Vandenberg that send unarmed re-entry vehicles to a target area in the middle of the Pacific.

However, the latest launches come amid tensions with North Korea as that nation develops its own ICBMs.

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1 a.m.

The U.S. Air Force was preparing to test an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile with a launch from California, the fourth such test this year.

The 30th Space Wing says the missile was to be launched between 12:01 a.m. and 6:01 a.m. Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, about 130 miles (209 kilometres) northwest of Los Angeles.

An Air Force statement said the test would show the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system.

Minuteman missiles are regularly tested with launches from Vandenberg that send unarmed re-entry vehicles 4,200 miles (6,800 kilometres) across the Pacific to a target area at Kwajalein Atoll.

However, the latest U.S. launches come amid tensions with North Korea as that nation develops its own ICBMs.