Next Gen

Just read an article that the United States Navy field tested the unmanned aerial vehicle, the X47B. The idea is that in the future this remote controlled plane can be launched from aircraft carriers. The stealth bomber took off from Edwards Air Force Base and made a 29 minute maiden flight without incident, apparently. Numerous U.A.V.'s are already in service but the X47B will be the next step in stealth and weapons delivery. It's also a safe bet that the technology, both hardware and software, will be cutting edge. While not clearly described in the article it might be possible the aircraft also has advanced software which will enable the craft to operate largely autonomous and with little input from the operators. That is something that's been worked on for quite a while now. Too bad so much effort, time and money goes into weapons technology, and not in solving human problems.

Mystery Missile

Some strange things were going on this week of the coast of California. An object left a vapor trail for everyone to see and nobody knew where it was from. The military had no scheduled tests or launches, even Norad didn't have a clue. Some people say it was a normal jetliner leaving an enormous trail in combination with atmospheric conditions. Others also added 'optical illusion,' but nobody knows exactly what it was. That in itself is strange because with today's modern radar technology and computerized air traffic control systems it should have been as easy as pushing the button on a keyboard and identifying the object in question.

What also struck me when I watched this item on American news channels was the amount of fear projection associated with this story. "No terrorist attack," "no foreign powers involved," "no threat to national security" were some of the phrases immediately added to the story. That shows a climate of negative expectations and where people are constantly reminded of possible attacks. While it's not completely unjustified to remind the public of the dangers of terrorist attacks, it also might not be wise to scare the public at every opportunity, because that creates a culture of fear. I do realize that possible rocket launches of the coast of the U.S. could potentially be a threat but on the other hand, we are not talking about Israel here. Rocket attacks on U.S. soil are unprecedented so there's no need to wet your pants if something unexplained happens.

This story and others like it that have surfaced over the last year or so also remind me of an episode in ufology. In 1946 many people observed 'missile' sightings in Sweden and other parts of Scandinavia. They were called "ghost rockets" and while many people thought they were rocket launches by the Russians who had captured the facilities at Peenemunde (where the V1 and V2 were created and tested), however no conclusive explanations were ever presented. The mystery actually remains. Perhaps the California sighting will fall in to same category. We just have to wait and see what the official explanation will be and how much water it will hold.