The Defense Department is aiming to test launch a Minuteman III ICBM in the window of May 21 to 23, Assistant Defense Secretary for Global Strategic Affairs Madelyn Creedon told the Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee April 17.
DoD postponed a previous test launch scheduled for earlier this month over tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Creedon also testified that the Minuteman III testing program would “move to the right a little,” or be delayed, due to the previous test’s postponement.
“(These tests) provide valuable information and we need to make sure that these go forward,” Creedon said. “It was a situation that we just wanted to deal with in a way we didn’t increase the provocation cycle that’s been going on the Korean Peninsula.”
The Air Force successfully launched a Minuteman III with a simulated re-entry vehicle, or warhead, Nov. 14 from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The missile traveled approximately 4,800 miles in 30 minutes from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Test Site in Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. The purpose of the test was to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system (Defense Daily, Jan. 9).