US Launches Test Nuclear-Capable Missile Into Pacific Ocean Amid Heightened China Tensions

A team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen launches an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test reentry vehicle from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., at 11:01 p.m. PT, on Feb. 9, 2023. Airman 1st Class Landon Gunsauls/U.S. Air Force

The U.S. Air Force confirmed it launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from a California base into the Pacific Ocean to show “readiness” of the United States’ nuclear capabilities, about a week after the U.S. military shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon.

An unarmed Minuteman missile was launched at 11:01 p.m. PT from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base, according to a military news release.