The US military test-launched Minuteman-III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile from the Vanderberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday, its press office said in a statement.

"An operational test launch of an Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman-III intercontinental ballistic missile launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday, Sept. 6, at 1:26 a.m. PT," the statement read.

The Minuteman III program started at the height of the Cold War and this weapon has been in service since the 1970s.

US plans to replace Minuteman-III with LGM-35 Sentinel - a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile system, which is currently in the early stages of development.

ICBMs are a traditional part of US nuclear triad.

Experts point out that the Minuteman-III is virtually the world’s oldest ICBM still in service. The Minuteman III’s successor – the Sentinel – will serve way into 2070s.

However, according to analysts, the Pentagon faces major challenges with replacing the Minuteman III, most notably the lack of plutonium pits and the US does not currently have the capacities to produce the necessary amount for its Sentinel ICBMs.