On February 16, the U.S. Navy successfully test fired an unarmed Trident II (D5LE) submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off the coast of San Diego, California. The test quickly follows an earlier Trident II launch on February 12. According to the Navy, the test “validated performance expectations of the life-extended Trident II” and “gathered additional data on the SWS’ reliability, accuracy, and performance factors.” It marks the 178th successful launch of the Trident II missile. The Trident II D5LE is an upgraded, life-extended variant of the Trident D5 first deployed in 2017.