United States: Before its first flight, the Sentinel nuclear missile undergoes a full-scale test

The intercontinental ballistic missile Sentinel was vertically assembled on September 14, 2026, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as part of a testing campaign called Pathfinder. This test verified the assembly of the missile's various components without firing, in preparation for the first flight tests scheduled for 2027. The Sentinel is set to replace the Minuteman III, with initial operational capability expected in the early 2030s, requiring adaptations of existing infrastructures.