Malmstrom Crew Test Launches Minuteman

Airmen from Malmstrom AFB, Mont., test launched an unarmed Minuteman III missile on Monday from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., as part of a periodical test of the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missile fleet. The airmen from the 341st Missile Wing launched the missile at 2:10 a.m. Pacific Time from Vandenberg, and it flew about 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, according to an Air Force Global Strike Command release. The missile carried a telemetry package to provide “valuable data to ensure a continued safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent,” the release states. The service regularly tests its Minuteman missiles to ensure readiness, though this launch came as North Korea has tested a series of missiles in the Pacific.