Rotate pic 90 degrees counter-clockwise (to completely visualize missile launch)
Posted on 03/05/2026 4:20:02 AM PST by Libloather
The US tested a doomsday ballistic missile off the California coast Tuesday night — as war raged in the Middle East.
The Minuteman III ballistic missile — which is capable of carrying nuclear warheads 20 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima — launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Santa Barbara at 11 p.m.
The unarmed rocket, known as GT 254, hit its intended target near the Marshall Islands in the west-central Pacific Ocean, according to the US Space Force.
The missile was fired to “verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy,” according to the Air Force Global Strike Command.
“[It] allowed us to assess the performance of individual components of the missile system,”Lt. Col. Karrie Wray, commander of the 576th Flight Test Squadron said in a press release.
“By continually assessing varying mission profiles, we are able to enhance the performance of the entire [Intercontinental Ballistic Missile] fleet, ensuring the maximum level of readiness for the land-based leg of the nation’s nuclear triad.”
The test launch comes just days after the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran, killing the nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at his compound in Tehran — setting off a war in the region.
President Trump later vowed to step up strikes on Iran, warning, “The big one is coming.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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This was likely also a political message to hostile nuclear powers.
Yes, we still have nukes, and we are just as good at hitting targets with them as we are with conventional arms in Iran right now.
Glory Trip 254. Routine verification of U.S. Strategic Deterence. Not news.
Problem is we don’t manufacture Minuteman III missiles any more. Those are the Land based ones. Most our focus is on Sub lunched missiles and we still make those.
Land based missiles don’t move, Submarines do.
“Doomsday”. Sure, okay. Drama major? Like we have not had those for nearly 80 years.
This launches are a normal thing. I remember seeing such back in the late 70’s. I was flying into LAX when I saw the missile smoke trail. Figured it was a test. That was confirmed a few days later.
Was this test and launch approved by the Karens in the Kalifornia Koastal Kommission?
Exactly!!
More drama?
“Iran war rages.” With maximum credit and respect to our armed forces, my impression is they are barely breaking a sweat in a one way battle against a completely overmatched foe.
Rotate pic 90 degrees counter-clockwise (to completely visualize missile launch)
What is this "doomsday missile" headline crap??
These tests are planned months in advance. We've been doing this since the early 1960's on a regular basis.
Damn drama queens. They test these things fairly regularly.
CC
Exercises in some cases are more arduous. But I still have tons of sympathy for dealing with the stress of a high operational tempo.
CC
I remember that episode, with William Windom.
ex girlfriend of mine lived right outside the base there. She said that missle test night was quite a sight to behold.
“”This was likely also a political message to hostile nuclear powers.
Yes, we still have nukes, and we are just as good at hitting targets with them as we are with conventional arms in Iran right now.””
***
Exactly.
Mysterious sonic booms are a regular occurrence in Southern California.
Cape Canaveral hosts many launches.
The Cape publishes a launch schedule.
Lots of folks look forward to launches.
I spent over 40 years in missile development.
Never got to witness a launch in person.
We do these missile tests EVERY year and have been doing them every year since the Minute Man was first deployed. I worked 5 of these tests at Kwajalein in the 90s. This is no big deal, and not a particular message to anyone.
Doomsday my A$$!
Doomsday? WTF? 20 times Hiroshima (20kt) is 400kt. Less than half a megaton. Who writes this drivel?
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