A joint team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen and 30th Space Launch Delta Guardians launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Vandenberg Space Force Base on September 6th. The missile was equipped with three test re-entry vehicles.
This test launch is part of routine and periodic activities which are intended to demonstrate that the U.S.’ nuclear deterrent is safe, secure, reliable and effective in its mission to deter twenty-first century threats and reassure our allies. This type of test has taken place over three hundred times before. This test is not the result of current world events.
Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere is the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. He said, “The men and women of Air Force Global Strike Command comprise two-thirds of our nation’s nuclear triad, and they stand constant vigil to ensure our national defense. Test launches validate our deterrence capabilities to the American public and to our allies. The missile community is comprised of our country’s finest Airmen, and I have no doubt in their ability to support our most important mission across the Department of Defense.”
The ICBM’s reentry vehicle traveled about four thousand miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. These test launches serve to verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system. They provide valuable data to ensure a continued safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent.
Coronel Chris Cruise is the 377th Test and Evaluation Group Commander. He said, “The U.S. nuclear enterprise is the cornerstone of security for the freedom of the American people and our allies around the world. This test launch sends a visible message of deterrence on behalf of our joint forces and global partners, and I couldn’t be prouder of the professionalism of the Airmen and Guardians who comprise this mission.”
The test launch is a culmination of months of preparation that involved multiple government agencies. The Airmen and Guardians who perform this vital mission are some of the most skillfully trained and educated men and women in the Air and Space Forces.
Airmen from across the Twentieth Air Force were selected for the task force to support the test launch. The 90th Missile Wing from F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, provided maintenance support. The missile bases within the Air Force Global Strike Command have crew members who are standing alert twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty five days a year, overseeing the nation’s ICBM alert Forces.
The ICBM community, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and U.S. Strategic Command, uses data collected from test launches for evaluating continuing force development. The ICBM test launch program demonstrates the operational capability of the Minuteman III. This ensures the U.S.’ ability to maintain a strong, credible nuclear deterrent as a key element of U.S. national security and the security of U.S. allies and partners.
Air Force Global Strike Command is a major U.S. command that is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, in the Shreveport-Bossier City community. The command oversees the nation’s three ICBM wings, the Air Force’s entire bomber force, to include B-52, B-1 and B-2 wings, the Long Range Strike Bomber program, Air Force Nuclear Command, Control and Communications systems, and operational and maintenance support to organizations within the nuclear enterprise. About thirty-four thousand professionals are assigned to two Numbered Air Forces, nine wings, two geographically-separated squadrons and one detachment in the continental U.S. that is deployed to locations around the globe.
The LG-35A Sentinel will replace the Minuteman III ICBM with an initial capability in 2029. Until full capability is reached in the mid-2030s, the Air Force is committed to ensuring that the Minuteman III remains a viable deterrent.