The United States conducted another routine test of its nuclear deterrent system by launching an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile.

The unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1:26 a.m. local Pacific time (0526 GMT) on Sept. 6. The test launch saw the missile deploy three undisclosed reentry vehicles that splashed down into the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands some 4,200 miles (6,760 km) away.

Col. Bryan Titus, vice commander of Space Launch Delta 30, oversaw the launch on behalf of the U.S. Space Force and praised personnel tasked with maintaining the U.S. ground-based missile system.

“The Airmen and Guardians who perform this vital mission are some of the most skillfully trained and dedicated personnel in America’s Air Force,” Titus said in a Space Force statement. “These test launches demonstrate the readiness of U.S. nuclear forces and provide confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.”