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.
Seeing as how the poster you quoted is employed as a news helicopter pilot in Southern Cal, I find it quite likely that he is not blowing smoke up our skirts. He may think "that's all I should say", but, after making a post like that, I think it's irresponsible for him not to elaborate. I hope he'll reconsider.
Not at all, _Jim!You're still missing it; this is coverage at-altitude (above 10 or 15,000 feet), dude. Meaning they could not/did not catch the launch.The PAVE PAWS coverage area is immense!
You are aware the earth is round, and radio waves (uWaves, light) follow a straight line (OTH or shortwave RADAR reflecting off the ionosphere for BEYOND local line-of-sight horizon 'coverage')
I am thinking “The Hunt for Red October”.
Condition 1SQ takes about 30 minutes to set, correct?
My money is on the CHICOMS. The message being, you are operating off our coast, we are off yours, (or Up Yours).
There's stupidity, and then there's political stupidity. I highly doubt the Pentagon would come out and say "we don't know what's going on." SecDef needs to friggin make a statement that doesn't have anything to do with DADT.
Don’t waste your time. Some people are allergic to facts.
I don’t think the WH has had any comment yet
Times in UTC?
I have no idea who has this capability at this point. Word was that the Iranians had sea launch missile capability. That’s different than sub-launched, I realize - much different.
Thank you for those excellent explanations/rebuttals.
One question: If it WAS an ‘act of war’, wouldn’t the ‘other side’ WANT us to know it was done as such? Why leave us scratching our heads?
Unless of course it was meant to go in an entirely DIFFERENT direction and this was a monumental FUBAR on THEIR end?
Me too- the post is what first interested me on this thread.
It was him http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3C_wLCZ18M
I see lots of contrails. None started from the ground though.
737 in the Philippines in 1990, and Thailand in 2001, both suffered center fuel tank explosions.
The TWA 800 nutters conveniently ignore them, of course. Interestingly they were both in hot climates, and TWA 800 was on a hot day.
I was just thinking which countries seem to be the most agitated right now. The most to gain?
The Pentagon saying they don't know who did it is puzzling.
I think they have a pretty good idea.
Could even be another country that had an accident during an exercise. French could do something like this because it's funny.
Search String pls?
That's not unusual. It was a camera on a KCBS LA traffic helicopter. No big deal to swing around and get it on camera, especially something so visible.
It will probably disappear like the footage of the one that was filmed before TWA800 went down.
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