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Re: Air Force test fires missile from Calif coast
Air Force test fires missile from Calif coast
Mon Jun 29, 8:36 am ET
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The Air Force says it has successfully launched an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile from a California base, firing it to targets in the Pacific Ocean.
Lt. Raymond Geoffroy (JEFF-rey) said the ICBM was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 3:01 a.m. Monday.
He said it carried three unarmed re-entry vehicles that hit their targets near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, some 4,200 miles away.
On clear mornings, missile launchings from Vandenberg can be seen as far away as Los Angeles, 140 miles to the southeast, but fog along the coast made Monday's launch difficult to see even in the immediate area, Geoffroy said.
The Air Force said the launch was an operational test to check the weapon system's reliability and accuracy.
Test data will be used by United States Strategic Command planners and Department of Energy laboratories.
A Minuteman II ballistic missile blasts off from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The START treaty restricts the US and Russia to no more than 3,500 warheads. US and Russian negotiators have met in Geneva to discuss new cuts in nuclear weapons arsenals, their last scheduled round of talks before a summit between their presidents next month.
(AFP/USAF/File/Sgt. Richard Freeland)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090629/ap_ … ssile_test
