The Air Force conducted a missile test from the Central Coast Tuesday night, launching an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile.
The Minuteman III rocket lifted off from the Central Coast at 11:01 p.m. The missile and its two mock warheads traveled to predetermined targets in the South Pacific about 4200 miles away.
Air Force officials say the test had been on the calendar for years, and wasn’t in response to world events. ICBMs are periodically test-launched from the base to test equipment and crew readiness. More than 300 of the missiles have been test-launched over the decades.
The launch was visible in much of the Western United States.
