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It's off! Air Force test launches unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from the Central Coast

KCLU | By Lance Orozco
Published May 20, 2026 at 4:55 PM PDT
The Air Force launched an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday morning.
Tech Sgt. Drake Layman
/
U.S. Air Force
The Air Force launched an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday morning.

Air Force officials say it's part of a series of flight tests to check equipment and crew preparedness.

It was a big sight in the skies over the Tri-Counties early Wednesday morning.

The Air Force launched an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 12:01 a.m.

The Minuteman III missile carried a dummy payload to a test range in the South Pacific.

Air Force officials said it is part of an ongoing series of launches intended to check crew and equipment preparedness. It was scheduled years ago and wasn't conducted in connection with any global events.
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cal coast newscalifornia coast newsicbmtest launchminuteman iii
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