Malmstrom airmen successfully launch unarmed Minuteman III

Airmen from Malmstrom Air Force Base launched an unarmed Minuteman III at 3:53 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Friday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The missile was pulled randomly from Malmstrom's missile field in November and transported to Vandenberg. The Malmstrom launch team went to Vandenberg in mid-February to prepare for the launch with the 576th Flight Test Squadron, based at Vandenberg.

The missile was equipped with a test re-entry vehicle that affected a pre-established area about 6, 000 miles away near Guam about 40 minutes after launch.

The Air Force took a video of the launch.

Earlier in the week, airmen completed a test launch with a missile from F.E. Warren AFB.

Tribune reporter Jenn Rowell is with the Malmstrom airmen in California and will have the complete story in Sunday's paper and online.