The "missile" was a transient white line appearing next to the bomb site. But the image was heavily affected by contrast-detection artifacts (why early Xerox machines did well with lines of sharp contrast, but poor with any blocks of dark color). The white line could easily have been a contrast artifact. Missiles do not produce visible wakes during their terminal flight. The idea that it was a missile strike is fancy, not fact.
Hardly a theory. Just a wild speculation. A non-starter. Lasers vs. ground targets have always been problematic. They get stopped by clouds, smoke, or dust. Why bother, when it is easier to lob a GPS-guided 500-lbm bomb?
I remember back in the 1970s when I was in grad school, our lab director (a rather salty guy) expressed exasperation about the popular obsession with laser death rays. "We already HAVE death rays," he would declare. "They're called machine guns! You point them, pull the trigger, and people die."
The "missile" was a transient white line appearing next to the bomb site. But the image was heavily affected by contrast-detection artifacts (why early Xerox machines did well with lines of sharp contrast, but poor with any blocks of dark color). The white line could easily have been a contrast artifact. Missiles do not produce visible wakes during their terminal flight. The idea that it was a missile strike is fancy, not fact.
You don't believe the DEW (Directed Energy Weapon) Theory then?
Hardly a theory. Just a wild speculation. A non-starter. Lasers vs. ground targets have always been problematic. They get stopped by clouds, smoke, or dust. Why bother, when it is easier to lob a GPS-guided 500-lbm bomb?
I remember back in the 1970s when I was in grad school, our lab director (a rather salty guy) expressed exasperation about the popular obsession with laser death rays. "We already HAVE death rays," he would declare. "They're called machine guns! You point them, pull the trigger, and people die."
Wasn’t smoke, but dust/debris. Thermobaric weapons can create that spout of smoke through delivery device entry prior to delayed explosion.