Vandenberg Air Force Base announced an operational test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) scheduled for Aug. 2, after the Sun‘s Aug. 1 press time. The announcement came just days after North Korea launched its longest range ICBM to date on July 28, which reportedly could reach the Continental United States.
According to a news release from Vandenberg, the Air Force Global Strike Command was set to conduct the test launch “to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system.” The 576th Flight Test Squadron was prepared to track the missile’s flight, according to the release and a statement from Col. Michael Hough, 30th Space Wing commander at Vandenberg.
“Our long history in partnering with the men and women of the 576th Flight Test Squadron shows that the Western Range stands ready and able to create a safe launch environment,” Hough said in the release.
The Minuteman III missile is the U.S. military’s means of launching nuclear warheads, should the need arise, but Vandenberg is a test launch facility. The last test launch at Vandenberg occurred on May 30, but was a ground-based interceptor missile.
According to Joe Thomas, public affairs specialist for the Air Force Global Strike Command, the Aug. 2 ICBM test launch was unrelated to the North Korean test launch. The U.S. Air Force schedules test launches three to five years in advance, Thomas told the Sun.
“These tests demonstrate that our nuclear enterprises are safe, secure, effective, and ready to be able to deter, detect, and defend against attacks on the United States and its allies,” he said. “These are all tests that are scheduled far in advance, and we’re sticking to the schedule that is done per fiscal year.”
But local activist Dennis Apel is skeptical.
Apel, who has protested ICBM launches at Vandenberg for years to the point of getting arrested, planned to protest in front of Vandenberg on the evening of Aug. 1 as the midnight launch window approached. He told the Sun that he believes the timing of the test launch at Vandenberg, considering North Korea’s recent launch, was dangerous.
“I think that our policy, while stated to be making us safer, is making us less safe,” Apel said. “I feel less safe now that North Korea has an ICBM that can reach the United States, but I believe that they wouldn’t have that if we sincerely tried to rid the world of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems.”
The announced test launch compelled Apel to put out a press release of his own, inviting peaceful, nonviolent protest at Vandenberg in anticipation of the launch. He said that the United States has set the precedent for nuclear armament, and that other countries developing ICBM’s is the “logical progression” from U.S. policy.
But he also made clear that he wasn’t trying to justify the actions of North Korea.
“I don’t think North Korea, Russia, China, Iran, Israel—I don’t think any of us should have them,” he said. “What would make us safer would be if no one had the ability to use a weapon of mass destruction on another country. That would make us safer.”
This article appears in Aug 3-10, 2017.