UFO sighting off California? Pentagon says it was a missile test | World News - Hindustan Times
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UFO sighting off California? Pentagon says it was a missile test

Reuters | By, Los Angeles
Nov 08, 2015 12:59 PM IST

Social media lit up on Saturday night with reports of streaking lights across the skies from California to Arizona, but the phenomenon turned out to be a US Navy missile test flight launched off the southern California coast, the Pentagon said.

Social media lit up on Saturday night with reports of streaking lights across the skies from California to Arizona, but the phenomenon turned out to be a US Navy missile test flight launched off the southern California coast, the Pentagon said.

Phoenix, Arizona-based news channel ABC15 said Saturday’s reported UFO sighting was a meteor shower.(Photo: Twitter handle @abc15)
Phoenix, Arizona-based news channel ABC15 said Saturday’s reported UFO sighting was a meteor shower.(Photo: Twitter handle @abc15)

Users of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook posted photos, comments and video of the lights, wondering whether they might have come from everything from a meteor to a UFO.

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A Pentagon public affairs spokesman said a US Navy Strategic Systems Programs Trident II (D5) missile test flight was conducted at sea from the USS Kentucky, in the Pacific Test Range off the coast of Southern California.

The tests of the unarmed missile were part of a scheduled, on-going system evaluation test, according to the spokesman, Commander Ryan Perry.

Such launches are conducted on a frequent, recurring basis to ensure the continued reliability of the system, Perry said, as well as to provide systems information and assurances of their capabilities.

Because information regarding the test launch of Trident II (D5) missiles is classified prior to the launch, such missile testing is not routinely announced, he noted.

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