Pentagon probing missile firing - California coast - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The Pentagon is trying to find out if a missile was fired off the California coast, and who launched it. The US Navy, Air Force, and other military organisations are examining video of the event captured from a passing news helicopter, The Telegraph reports. Colonel Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said: "Nobody within the Department of Defence that we've reached out to has been able to explain what this contrail is, where it came from. "Right now all indications are that there was not Department of Defence involvement in this." There was speculation that the trail could have been caused by a projectile launched by a private company. Missile tests are common off southern California, with launches being conducted from vessels and platforms out in the Pacific. The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) and the US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) issued a joint statement saying that the vapour trail was not the result of any foreign military launching a missile, but gave no further details.

Pentagon probing missile firing off California coast