Unarmed missile tested from Vandenberg

[unhappycamper]

Unarmed missile tested from Vandenberg
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Nov 5, 2008 21:21:08 EST

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile reached its target in a test early Wednesday that sent a streak through the night sky that could be seen from the Central Coast and Southern California, the Air Force said.

The ICBM was launched from an underground silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1 a.m. PST. Its unarmed re-entry vehicle traveled 4,190 miles to a target over the Pacific Ocean near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

“The fact that we can randomly select an on-alert operational ICBM from any missile wing and launch it without making any modifications to the components to hit a bulls-eye target is a testament to the system’s reliability,” Lt. Col. Lesa Toler, the 576th Flight Test Squadron commander and the mission director, said in a statement. “I have complete confidence in our ICBM weapon system to perform as advertised.”

The missile, configured with a National Nuclear Security Administration Test Assembly, was launched under the direction of the 576th Flight Test Squadron, whose members installed tracking and command destruct systems on it to collect data and meet safety requirements.

The Air Force says the launch was an operational test to check the weapon system’s reliability and accuracy.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_missiletest_110508/%2e