US test launches unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — An unarmed U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile has been launched from California in a test of the defense system. The Air Force Global Strike Command says the Minuteman III missile lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base late Thursday night. Its reentry vehicle traveled about 4,200 miles over the Pacific Ocean to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The Air Force says the test was routine and not the result of current world events.