 Strike Command Airmen conducted an operational test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III ballistic missile September 7 to demonstrate the readiness of the U.S. nuclear forces and provide confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation's nuclear deterrent. Today's test launch used a randomly selected intercontinental ballistic missile pulled from F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. The missile was transported more than 1,300 miles and reassembled at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The ICBM was equipped with three test re-entry vehicles and traveled approximately 4,200 miles at a speed of more than 15,000 miles per hour to a test range near the Quadriland Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The ICBM Test and Evaluation Program helps validate the reliability the nuclear umbrella our allies and partners rely on, eliminating the need to obtain their own nuclear weapons to counter potential adversaries. The 50-year-old Minuteman III is based in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming and will be replaced by the LGM-35A Sentinel. Reporting from Vandenberg Space Force Base, I'm Farah Kaufman.