Air Force Successfully Test Launches ICBM Missile

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) -- The U.S. Air Force has successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in the latest test on the Southern California coast.

The unarmed Minuteman 3 missile was launched Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

It was the first such test this year. The most recent was last August. A launch planned for February was postponed.

The Air Force says the test was to check the readiness, effectiveness and accuracy of the weapons system.

Minuteman missiles are regularly tested with launches from Vandenberg that send unarmed re-entry vehicles to a target area in the middle of the Pacific.