Posted on 11/09/2010 8:05:31 AM PST by Gennie
(CBS) A mysterious missile launch off the southern California coast was caught by CBS affiliate KCBS's cameras Monday night, and officials are staying tight-lipped over the nature of the projectile.
CBS station KFMB put in calls to the Navy and Air Force Monday night about the striking launch off the coast of Los Angeles, which was easily visible from the coast, but the military has said nothing about the launch.
KFMB showed video of the apparent missile to former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Robert Ellsworth, who is also a former Deputy Secretary of Defense, to get his thoughts.
Scroll down for KFMB video showing the launch.
Video here
"It's spectacular… It takes people's breath away," said Ellsworth, calling the projectile, "a big missile".
Magnificent images were captured by the KCBS news helicopter in L.A. around sunset Monday evening. The location of the missile was about 35 miles out to sea, west of L.A. and north of Catalina Island.
A Navy spokesperson told KFMB it wasn't their missile. He said there was no Navy activity reported in the area Monday evening.
On Friday night, Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, launched a Delta II rocket, carrying an Italian satellite into orbit, but a sergeant at the base told KFMB there had been no launches since then.
Ellsworth urged American to wait for definitive answers to come from the military.
When asked, however, what he thought it might be, the former ambassador said it could possibly have been a missile test timed as a demonstration of American military might as President Obama tours Asia.
"It could be a test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile from a submarine … to demonstrate, mainly to Asia, that we can do that," speculated Ellsworth.
Ellsworth said such tests were carried out in the Atlantic to demonstrate America's power to the Soviets, when there was a Soviet Union, but he doesn't believe an ICBM has previously been tested by the U.S. over the Pacific.
Officially, at least, the projectile remains a mystery missile.
I guess military pilots don’t count then, huh?
“A news article written by the Associated Press quoted a military-trained helicopter pilot named Frederick C Meyer, who was flying an Air National Guard H-60 Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission,was among the first of many eyewitnesses to report having seen a “light Streak” arcing in the sky before the jet exploded.”
... PAVE PAWS at Beale AFB ...A little ways inland don't ya think?
They won't have seen much until the 'target' gained some altitude (a few thousand feet) from where Beale AFB is located ...
But this was launched from the water. Doesn't jive.
Take it up with NORAD, it’s their boast.
So THAT's what they're calling the jihadists these days? Private Enthusiasts? WTF. If ther is to be a war, let it begin here.
Technical problem with the launch sequence that required an emergency launch/burn-off?
Looks like they just cleared the airspace for whatever activities they expect (like that helicopter photo above) right after the news reached some decision-makers at the Pentagon.
There is a volcano earthquake activity over there?
All the news I know is on this thread.
Interesting. It could be that Obama was there to tell India that we were now in charge of their arsenal since they can’t maintain it safely.
There was also reports of a launch of some kind around Phoenix that didn’t get as much play.
(tin foil) Was the LA launch a distraction for the Phoenix launch?(/tin foil>
Problem: Obama's visit has been scheduled since many months ago.
Whoever reset the clocks down there was off by a day. lol.
Take it up with NORAD, it’s their boast.I like mother nature's predominance on the issue (vis-a-vis the laws of nature ala 'physics') thank you ... (curvature of the earth inverse square law for propagation, inverse quad law for RADAR returns, blocking mountains, no-seeing in valleys, et cetera)
I find it incredible they are saying they don't know what it is?!!!???
Well, possible, but much, much more frightening to me.
We have guys and gals watching all night, every day, every hour. They saw it. Depend on it.
There is NO WAY this was accidental. The whole point of a Missile carrying Boomer is to launch those weapons. It takes every crew member doing his job to accomplish it. Its a crew effort. It isn’t a push-a-button operation by any means. Shoot the Captain and XO BOTH have to be present to even start the process to launch, and the whole boat knows it’s going on. Its dead serious and it is their job, their whole point.
This was not an accident.
Really? Where and when?
A friend of mine, a test/training pilot for Boeing for nearly 15 years (he's retired) at the time didn't buy into the fuel tank explosion theory. He said there was no precedent that he was aware of ... that was back in 1996/97.
Andy’s story is nonsense. See my post.
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