(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) Minuteman III Missile

(NOVEMBER-2025)

The US Air Force successfully launched an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM, a test scheduled months in advance.

The LGM-30G Minuteman III is an American-made Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).
“L” in LGM is the US Department of Defense designation for silo-launched; “G” means surface attack; and “M” stands for guided missile.
Introduced in the early 1970s, the Minuteman III was the first missile in the US arsenal to feature multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs).
It is the sole land-based component of the U.S. nuclear triad.
It was developed for the United States by Douglas Aircraft Company, which later became part of McDonnell Douglas and then Boeing.
Originally, it was only supposed to be kept in service for about ten years, but instead, it has been modernized as its replacement, the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), is due to become available for use in 2029.
The United States currently has an estimated 440 Minuteman III missiles in its arsenal.

It weighs more than 30 tons and measures 18 meters long.
Propulsion: Three-stage solid fuel rocket motors; post-boost stage for positioning re-entry vehicle is liquid-fueled.
Speed: Approximately 15,000 mph (Mach 23 or 24,000 kph) at burnout (Hypersonic).
Range: It has a maximum range of approximately 13,000 kilometres.
It is capable of carrying a payload of three re-entry vehicles.
Originally capable of carrying three nuclear warheads, current configurations carry a single warhead, in compliance with arms control agreements between the United States and Russia.
Each missile is housed in a hardened underground silo, connected to a launch control center via reinforced cables.
It has a fast launch time, nearly 100 percent testing reliability, and backup airborne launch controllers to preserve retaliatory capabilities.