US News

US launches doomsday Minuteman III nuclear-capable missile in dramatic show of force

By
Jared Downing
Published May 21, 2025, 6:16 p.m. ET

​The US Air Force launched a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of delivering a nuclear warhead anywhere on Earth Wednesday morning — as part of a regular test of the country’s doomsday missiles.

The Minuteman III missile was unarmed when it launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the military said.

The missile traveled 15,000 miles per hour to a test site in the Marshall Islands 4,200 miles away, officials said.

The Minuteman is a 1970s-era program that the Air Force plans to replace with the Sentinel system — but that program has been plagued by cutbacks and delays.

A Minuteman III missile blasts off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base.
A Minuteman III missile blasts off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base. X/Sentdefender
The Minuteman III (pictured) travelled 15,000 miles per hour to a test site in the Marshall Islands.
The Minuteman III traveled 15,000 miles per hour to a test site in the Marshall Islands. X/Sentdefender
A view of the Minuteman III against the night's sky.
The Minuteman III against the night sky. X/Sentdefender

Thus, Wednesday’s launch came with a message: America’s nuclear deterrent is still ready.

“This ICBM test launch underscores the strength of the nation’s nuclear deterrent and the readiness of the ICBM leg of the triad,” Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of the U.S. Global Strike Command, said in a statement.

The Air Force added that the test was routine and “not a response to current world events.”

The US’s “nuclear triad” comprises nuclear-armed bombers, stealthy submarines carrying Polaris nuclear ICBMs and roughly 400 land-based Minuteman III missiles.

The comet-like trail of a launched Minuteman III ICBM.
The comet-like trail of a launched Minuteman III ICBM. X/Sentdefender
The Cold War-era Minuteman III ICBM will eventually be replaced by the Sentinel missile system.
The Cold War-era Minuteman III ICBM will eventually be replaced by the Sentinel missile system. X/Sentdefender

The Air Force had planned to decommission all its Cold War-era missiles by 2039, but the Sentinel hasn’t even been fully tested yet, and delays in the program could push the transition date to at least 2050,

Yet the Air Force insisted the Sentinel program is on track, adding that “until full capability is achieved, the Air Force is committed to ensuring Minuteman III remains a viable deterrent.”