The US Air Force has announced a new operational test of the LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in March.

The launch is part of the service’s periodic evaluation to assess the continued effectiveness and safety of the weapon in its role as the land-based leg of Washington’s nuclear triad deterrence strategy, alongside airborne and sea-based capabilities.

Firing of the unarmed warhead will be conducted from 11 pm to 5 am Pacific Time at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California, and will be supervised by the air force’s Global Strike Command.

The upcoming event follows the Minuteman III’s latest validation in November 2025.

During the test, operators aboard a US Navy E-6B Doomsday Plane will trigger the missile launch, sending it on a 4,200-mile (6,759-kilometer) flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base to the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

400 Missiles in Arsenal

Developed by Boeing, the Minuteman was conceptualized in the 1950s to enhance American homeland protection against evolving threats and has since been upgraded to achieve a near 100 percent alert rate.

The silo-launched weapon is primarily controlled via an underground center, with firing overseen by two personnel.

Currently, the US Air Force has approximately 400 units of the missile in the latest LGM-30G Minuteman III configuration in its inventory.

The weapons are distributed across the 90th Missile Wing at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, and the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

Specifications

The Minuteman III has a diameter of 6 feet (2 meters) and a weight of over 79,000 pounds (35,834 kilograms).

It is powered by a three-stage solid-propellant rocket motor system that supports a top speed of Mach 23 (17,647 miles/28,400 kilometers per hour), an operational altitude of 700 miles (1,127 kilometers), and a range of more than 6,000 miles (9,656 kilometers).