An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile – capable in wartime of delivering a nuclear warhead – was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 6:35 a.m. on 6/22. The test missile made its way 4,200 miles to a pre-determined target near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, and data from the flight will be used by the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to keep the country’s ICMB fleet up to par. “These launches [allow] us to maintain a high readiness capability and ensures operational effectiveness of the most powerful weapons in the nation’s arsenal,” said Col. David Bliesner, 576th Flight Test Squadron commander.
