Article Posted on : - Sep 18, 2010

A file photo.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE (AP): The US Air Force said an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile launched from central California's Vandenberg Air Force Base successfully reached its target near Guam.

The military said the missile blasted off early Friday and its single re-entry test vehicle traveled approximately 8,500 kilometres to a target about 320 kilometres southwest of Guam.

It was described as a readiness test involving the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy.

The launch involved Vandenberg's 576th Flight Test Squadron and 30th Space Wing, the 91st Missile Wing at North Dakota's Minot Air Force Base and the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron at Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base.