Air Force Space Command launched an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., last week to test the Minuteman’s acceptance of a newer warhead, the Mark 21 from the now-decommissioned Peacekeeper ICBMs. The dummy re-entry vehicle traveled 4,800 miles, striking its target at the Kwajalein Missile Range in the Marshall Islands.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.