The U.S. Air Force has conducted a test launch of unarmed LGM-30G Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

The Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) says in a statement the missile was launched at 11:01 p.m. Tuesday November 6, 2018, to determine the accuracy and reliability of the system and such tests «are not related to any real-world events».

The command says the missile’s re-entry vehicle reached its intended target but details about the test can’t be released.

The Air Force tests Minuteman missiles by launching them from California to a target in the Pacific Ocean.

In July, a missile was intentionally destroyed over the Pacific due to an unspecified in-flight anomaly.

The Air Force Global Strike Command is located at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

 

General characteristics

Primary function	Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Contractor	Boeing Co.
Power plant	Three solid-propellant rocket motors: first stage ATK refurbished M55A1; second stage ATK refurbished SR-19; third stage ATK refurbished SR-73
Technologies chemical systems division thrust	first stage: 203,158 pounds/92,151 kg; second stage: 60,793 pounds/27,575 kg; third stage: 35,086 pounds/15,915 kg
Weight	79,432 pounds/36,030 kg
Diameter	5.5 feet/1.67 m
Range	5,218 NM/6,005 miles/9,664 km
Speed	approximately Mach 23/15,000 mph/24,000 km/h at burnout
Ceiling	700 miles/1,120 km
Date deployed	June 1970, production cessation: December 1978
Inventory	450