U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command fired an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base, validating the force’s ability to deploy multiple reentry vehicles and reinforcing the readiness of the land-based leg of America’s nuclear triad. The launch, designated Glory Trip 255, paired a legacy ICBM air vehicle with two test re-entry vehicles and sent them thousands of miles downrange to the Kwajalein Atoll target area in the Marshall Islands, where instrumentation supports precision scoring and system diagnostics. Air Force officials emphasized the event was scheduled years in advance and “not in response to world events,” yet its timing lands amid the most acute escalation risk in years as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran enters its first week and European nuclear signaling intensifies. Read more...
