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 Navy missile test flight launched off the
southern California coast, the Pentagon said.
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.
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.
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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