VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (KEYT) – The U.S. Air Force successfully tested an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with two reentry vehicles late Tuesday night.
The test launch, designated as GT 255, was scheduled years in advance and is part of a decades-old program to validate the performance of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) weapon system in service in the United State's nuclear arsenal since the late 1970s.
Minuteman III test launch on March 3, 2026. Image courtesy of Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The last ICBM test from Vandenberg Space Force Base was in November of last year.
"GT 255 allowed us to assess the performance of individual components of the missile system," said Lt. Col. Karrie Wray, Commander of the 576th Flight Test Squadron. "By continually assessing varying mission profiles, we are able to enhance the performance of the entire ICBM fleet, ensuring the maximum level of readiness for the land-based leg of the nation’s nuclear triad."
A Minuteman III ICBM. Image courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense
Hundreds of Minuteman III missiles make up the nation's ground-based nuclear deterrence infrastructure as part of a trio of launch platforms that, "underwrites every U.S. military operation on the globe—it is the backstop and foundation of our national defense and that of our allies," detailed the U.S. Air Force's Nuclear Weapons Center.
According to Vandenberg Space Force Base, the test on the ICBM's performance Tuesday evening was also a test of the multiple reentry vehicles which are, "used to increase missile effectiveness and overcome enemy defenses."
"It is critical to test all aspects of our ICBM force, including our ability to deliver multiple, independently targeted payloads with absolute precision," detailed Gen. S.L. Davis, Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. "This test validates the intricate synchronization of the weapon system, from the initial launch sequence to the flawless deployment of each reentry vehicle."
The reentry vehicles used during the test were equipped with a telemetry package traveled about 4,200 miles to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands noted Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll. Image courtesy of the U.S. Army.
That data was collected by weapons experts with the 377th Test and Evaluation Group which then provides the results of t