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US Air Force tests Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile
The Defense Post ^ | April 25, 2018

Posted on 04/27/2018 6:24:27 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

US Air Force tests Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile

The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday test launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, officials said.

According to a statement from Air Force Global Strike Command, the missile took off at 5:26 am (12:26 GMT) and was successful.

“A reliable test launch occurs when a test missile launches, completes its flight path within a designated safety corridor, the equipment functions properly, sensor data is collected, and the test reentry vehicle impacts where targeted,” the statement read.

“Though the reentry vehicle reached its intended target, the test and analysis data is not releasable to the public.”

Minuteman ICBMs are regularly tested with launches from Vandenberg that send unarmed re-entry vehicles to a target area in the middle of the Pacific to check the readiness, effectiveness and accuracy of the weapons system.

(Excerpt) Read more at thedefensepost.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: icbm; minutemaniii; testlaunch
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To: OldMissileer

I tried to join the Air Force as a key turner in 81, the recruiter got to allergies and I said bee stings, he said bye...lol


41 posted on 04/28/2018 12:55:30 PM PDT by Despot of the Delta
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To: OldMissileer

Heh, the first test of the guidance system about 1978 there was a Russian trawler off the atoll. Our trackers showed that one of the three warheads was a little off course. They tried to alert the trawler that the projected impact was almost on top of them. The Russians ignored the warnings. After the fourth warning or so, the Russian doing their tracking must have figured out that it was going to turn them into instant plasma. They immediately fired up the engines and barely made it outside of the danger area. One of our Russian interpreters said that the transmissions he intercepted indicated that they were literally crapping their pants. Turns out they had been within 30 yards of the impact. I’ve seen footage of a warhead that spun in off course. The camera footage showed the shoreline, an empty steel Butler building and some palms. The warhead was supposed to hit a ways off shore from the building but it hit maybe 100 yds from the building. The thermal flash was blinding and when the dust cleard, no palms, no building. Impressive footage.


42 posted on 04/28/2018 10:32:14 PM PDT by RJS1950 (The democrats are the "enemies foreign and domestic" cited in the federal oath)
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