The Region : Missile Destroyed in Flight

An unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base was intentionally blown up during a test flight because of an undisclosed problem, the Air Force said. “The destruct signal was sent well into the missile’s 30-minute test flight,” said base spokesman Sgt. Fred Bolinger. The 78,000-pound Minuteman 3 missile, capable of carrying explosives to three separate targets, lifted off from an underground silo for its 30-minute flight across the Pacific Ocean to Kwajalein Atoll, Bolinger said.