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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) - The U.S. Air Force has test-launched an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile from the central California coast.
The missile lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 4:36 a.m. PDT Tuesday on a 4,200 mile flight over the Pacific to a target on the Kwajalein Atoll.
The Air Force Global Strike Command says the test was a success.
Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein, commander of the 20th Air Force, said in a statement that the test was a visible demonstration of the nation's nuclear deterrent.
It is the last Minuteman launch scheduled for the year.
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