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The U.S. Air Force will test launch an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday marking the second such test in a week and the third overall this year.
The Minuteman III missile launch is scheduled to occur between 12:01am and 6:01 a.m. and will launch from the base located northwest of Santa Barbara.
The Air Force Global Strike Command said in a statement that the purpose of the test is to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system. The previous test conducted by the Global Strike Command on April 26th was an operational test to demonstrate the country's nuclear capability.
That missile traveled 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands according to a report from the LA Times.
The launches come during a time of high tensions between the United States and North Korea. The secretive regime has stepped up its rhetoric in recent days, pairing that with its own tests of their ballistic missiles. On Friday, North Korea's military launched a ballistic missile of its own, however, South Korean and Japanese observers said it apparently crashed in or nearby water just offshore.