The Defense Department reportedly will conduct a test of a new ballistic missile, possibly as soon as Thursday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, amid Cold War-era secrecy.
The Western Range, which monitors just-launched rockets and missiles from the base for safety reasons, has warned boaters to remain away from the waters off the northern section of Vandenberg.
Mariners have been notified to keep out of the area between 5 a.m. and 12:41 p.m. on Thursday, with Friday reportedly established as a back-up date.
The actual launch window likely spans a shorter time period, based on previous missions from the base.
The North Base area included in the mariners’ notice sits near the underground silos used for intercontinental ballistic missile tests and to house missile-defense interceptors.
For 25 years, the military has alerted Vandenberg’s neighbors about upcoming launches, before apparently changing its policy in March when the base tested a pair of missile-defense interceptor without advance notice.
The U.S. typically notifies the international community about upcoming liftoffs to ensure tests are not mistaken for an actual or even accidental missile launch.
The notification also informs residents wondering about the rattling and rumbles, sometimes mistaken as an earthquake.
On Wednesday afternoon, Robin Ghormley, Vandenberg’s chief of public affairs, remained mum about the planned activity.
“Vandenberg regularly is used by DOD and different partners to evaluate different systems,” she said, referring calls to the Office of the Secretary of Defense despite the fact it was after regular business hours on the East Coast.
Defense News reported on the looming test last month.
The mysterious test may be related to the development of a new weapon after the U.S. pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, an arms control pact eliminating intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles from the arsenl for the U.S. and former Soviet Union.
“As part of the U.S. integrated response to Russia’s violations of the INF Treaty, the United States announced it would commence treaty-compliant research and development of conventional, ground-launched missile concepts in late 2017,” Lt. Col. Robert Carver, with Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs, said in a written statement provided to Noozhawk.
“Following the U.S. suspension of its obligations under INF in February 2019, DOD began conceptual design activities on ground-launched cruise missile and ballistic missile systems, activities which would have been inconsistent with our obligation under the treaty,” Carver added.
The activities have continued after the United States formally withdrew from the INF Treaty on Aug. 2.
“I am not able to provide you with details on any tests that may be planned,” Carver said.
The treaty retired nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles capable of traveling between 311 to 3,400 miles.
Coincidentally, the test will occur days after the anniversary of when President Ronald Reagan and then Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev inked the INF deal on Dec. 8, 1987.
After the treaty’s cancellation last summer, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation expressed concerns about a new arms race due to the end of the pact.
This week’s test also will land near the anniversary of the inaugural blastoff from the Central Coast base — a Thor intermediate range ballistic missile on Dec. 16, 1958. That launch has been followed by approximately 2,000 rockets and missiles in the 61 years after the maiden blastoff for Vandenberg.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.