VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from California early Tuesday on a test flight to a target in the Pacific Ocean, the Air Force Global Strike Command said.
The missile blasted off at 12:21 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base and its three reentry vehicles traveled 4,200 miles (6,759 kilometers) to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands as part of a developmental test, the command said from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.
Test launches are essential to sustaining the aging Minuteman 3 nuclear weapon system, Col. Omar Colbert, the 576th Flight Test Squadron commander, said in a statement.
The Air Force said test launches are not a reaction to world events.
The launch calendars are developed three to five years in advance, and planning for individual launches takes six months to a year.
The Indiana National Guard’s Camp Atterbury training base has helped resettle about 7,200 Afghan refugees in the U.S. since September.
Members of the 1st Samoan Battalion defended their homelands.
For the servicemen who recently visited Whitefish, the opportunity to process their recent combat experience with other veterans was both healing and surreal.
About 4,800 people entered the Air Force in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, down from around 7,100 at the same point in fiscal 2021. And there are fewer prospects in the pipeline.
The Air Force declined to say whether anyone was disciplined for the incident.
Staffers in non-medical posts will not face firings while a court battle over the vaccine mandate is pending.
Ukrainian leaders urging of calm comes as the Pentagon heightens readiness for 8,500 troops.
North Korea last Thursday issued a veiled threat to resume the testing of nuclear explosives and long-range missiles targeting the American homeland.
The U.S. has provided some ground support to Kurdish forces.
Thousands of U.S. troops could be called on to deploy in support of NATO's Response Force.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/BL6GVJEBOZGLPFPETPICLU6XP4.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/FKJ5QOSPCRFKBFYF5NJAXOCOZU.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/L5BCBKJWXJEEHINADMPLNUTX64.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/MPLX6L6QJVA2ZJJVV2ASLGZDMQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/P4QCDPNHKNGSJKCPQFGFOGRQUQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/NJ5HI7KSRNGTBGGWCMETEW37HM.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/ONYPOPYCEVFFNHV7DM3NHZX2E4.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/YWI4Y65L2FHN3KRJVYU4XTQLL4.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/DMDSZNYZWBGPVH5S7YQ23GOT6Y.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/HJYPT2LLJRHTPAKZ6HCZI3DYY4.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/6BFSGJBUENGZRMFB4KQTHRRWHU.jpg)