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yesterday

U.S. Sets Overnight Minuteman III Test Launch From Vandenberg

Officials call the long-planned flight a routine check of deterrent readiness.

An unarmed United States Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on May 21, 2025.
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Overview

  • The Air Force scheduled an unarmed Minuteman III launch between 11:01 p.m. and 5:01 a.m. Pacific on November 4 from north Vandenberg, according to the base.
  • The missile is expected to fly roughly 4,200 miles to the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in about 22 minutes, based on navigational notices and prior profiles.
  • Program documents describe these operational tests as routine events planned years in advance to verify effectiveness, accuracy and readiness, not as responses to current events.
  • The timing follows President Trump’s order to resume nuclear testing, but the Energy Secretary has said current plans do not involve explosive detonations and focus on system and component testing.
  • Roughly 400 Minuteman III missiles remain deployed as the Air Force sustains the 50-year-old system, with Business Insider reporting GAO findings that the Sentinel replacement has slipped into the 2030s with rising costs.