US test launches unarmed ICBM from California

An unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile has been launched from California to test the defense system, the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command said.

The Minuteman III missile lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:01 p.m. Thursday and its reentry vehicle traveled about 4,200 miles over the Pacific Ocean to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, an Air Force statement said. The Minuteman III system has been in service for decades. The Air Force plans to replace it with a new missile called the Sentinel.