TV & Showbiz

Chopper Cam Captures Mystery Missile

The Pentagon has so far been unable to explain what appears to be a missile launch captured by a KCBS-TV helicopter camera.

On Monday night, the chopper recorded video of what appeared to be the contrail of a missile.&nbsp  Naturally curious about what was being launched, KCBS began making inquiries.&nbsp  And no one seems to know what it was.

Am I the only one who finds this a bit disturbing?

According to KPIX-TV in San Francisco, Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said that “all indications” are that the U.S. Department of Defense was not involved.&nbsp  The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, and the U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, issued a joing statement saying that the contrail was not the result of a foreign military launching a missile and that there was no threat to our nation.

But that’s about all they had to say.

A spokesman for a global security firm claims that at a certain point in the video, the object appears to change course, which tells him that it isn’t a rocket, but some kind of aircraft.

Shouldn’t some agency somewhere be able to pinpoint what’s flying where and when, especially if it’s either an airplane or some sort of rocket launch?&nbsp  I have a hard time believing that if I had the money to build and launch a real rocket, the government wouldn’t need to know exactly what I was up to before I launched it.&nbsp  And I’d think that if I had a private jet, there would have to be a record of any takeoff as well.

Shouldn’t there be a record of every “big” thing that gets launched in this country?&nbsp  Otherwise, it seems to me, how can we be sure we can safely rule out a possible attack?

the authorPatrick
Patrick is a Christian with more than 30 years experience in professional writing, producing and marketing. His professional background also includes social media, reporting for broadcast television and the web, directing, videography and photography. He enjoys getting to know people over coffee and spending time with his dog.

2 Comments

  • As near as can be determined, it is the contrail of a commercial jet at high altitude trans-Pacific flight heading directly at the camera angle of the helicopter.

    Yes, a record is made of all take-offs of private and commercial airplanes. However, aircraft of foreign origin wishing to avoid detection usually will come in extremely low when approaching the USA coastline. Keep in mind that not all countries, and clearly no Mexican Drug Cartel, have any respect for the declaimed "200 Mile Limit" as opposed to the the 12 mile limit established by international treaties. Potentially, an aircraft originating outside of the USA, approaching the coastline, must only notify ATC as it approaches 12 miles from the continental boundaries of the USA. If, on the other hand, the aircraft approaches from a cosignitor to the 200 mile limit, then they would have already notified ATC at the outer limits. In so much as few commercial aircraft and private pilots choose to "fly by the seat of their pants" (without ATC assistance) we have become, as a nation, complacent about aircraft approaching our shores. In point of fact, if NORAD had detected an unidentified aircraft ("bogey") they felt posed a threat, I am quite sure that NORTHCOM would have authorized pursuit and interception of the bogey. At what point or proximity such a decision is made is highly classified and I will not speculate further. If the image shown was truly a missile I have every confidence that defensive measures would have been undertaken. It is only in the case of a device undetectable by present defensive systems that no reaction nor response would occur. NORAD has not indicated the bogey was undetected, merely that it wasn't foreign in origin. Either they know what it is/was and they have no desire to identify it publicly or it went undetected. I suspect the former. Contrary to the notions and nosiness inherent to journalists in the USA, not everything is nor should be public information. Particularly when the matter involves National Security. One should not assume that the object in question is an unknown entity, merely that it's none of your business.

    • Contrary to the notions and nosiness inherent to journalists in the USA, not everything is nor should be public information. Particularly when the matter involves National Security. One should not assume that the object in question is an unknown entity, merely that it's none of your business.

      An interesting point of view, no doubt.

      While I might be willing to concede that if the object had been a missile and it had been part of some defense project, let's say, national security could be a perfectly valid reason for us not getting details, I can't agree that it's unreasonable to ask.

      All they'd have to say, in that scenario, was that it was a simple military missile test without any further elaboration.

      It sounds suspicious to the general public — no matter how many of your "nosey" reporters might be asking — when the government simultaneously claims it has no idea what it could be, but is sure it isn't a threat.

Comments are closed.