Air Force Space Command personnel launched an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., at 6 a.m. on April 7 as part of a development test to demonstrate the missile’s effectiveness. The missile’s unarmed re-entry vehicle traveled about 5,000 miles, hitting a predetermined water target near the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.