Rare photo captures the moment the keys were turned on a US military 'doomsday' plane to launch an ICBM

The US military recently test-fired a unarmed nuclear-capable long-range ballistic missile. The launch was executed aboard a so-called 'doomsday' plane, and a newly released photo captures the moment an airman turned the keys to initiate the launch.

An unarmed silo-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base early in the morning on April 19, and its re-entry vehicle traveled around 4,200 miles to a location in the Marshall Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, US Strategic Command said in a statement.

Test-fired ICBMs are typically launched by missileers based in underground bunkers, but last week's test was carried out by US Air Force missileers and engineers from the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron and a US Navy aircrew from Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron FOUR (VQ-4) from aboard a Navy E-6B Mercury aircraft, according to US Strategic Command.

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