US Air Force test-launches missile from California base

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The U.S. Air Force has conducted a test launch of an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

The Air Force Global Strike Command says in a statement the missile was launched at 11:01 p.m. Tuesday to determine the accuracy and reliability of the system and such tests “are not related to any real world events.”

The command says the missile’s re-entry vehicle reached its intended target but details about the test can’t be released.

The Air Force tests Minuteman missiles by launching them from California to a target in the Pacific Ocean.

In July, a missile was intentionally destroyed over the Pacific due to an unspecified in-flight anomaly.

The Air Force Global Strike Command is located at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.