Aerial test: Intercontinental ballastic missile test flight set for the Central Coast

KCLU | By Lance Orozco

Published May 20, 2025 at 2:43 PM PDT

A crowd gathers to watch the launch of a Minuteman III ICBM missile. It's night, and the rocket leaves a trail arcing through the sky. — A successful Air Force test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from the Central Coast.

Air Force officials say it's a routine mission to test equipment and flight crew readiness.

You might see an early morning sight in the sky. The Air Force has announced plans for the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Central Coast.

Plans call for an unarmed Minuteman III mission to be launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base sometime between 12:01 and 5:01 Wednesday morning.

Air Force officials say it was scheduled years ago.

It’s one in a series of missions to test equipment and the preparedness of launch crews.

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Lance Orozco

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.

See stories by Lance Orozco