A mysterious radar track yesterday prompted Washington D.C. to go on alert.



A search of the area turned up nothing.

A reporter for CBS News noticed a missile launcher during the alert.

A mysterious radar return prompted yesterday that an unauthorized aircraft was flying over the restricted airspace of Washington D.C. A search of the area reportedly turned up nothing, but one reporter located in the city did notice something: a surface to air missile system across the street from the White House.

At approximately 8:30am local time, a “track of interest” on a radar at the Capitol Police command center was detected over Washington D.C. The track was described as a “slow moving blob.”

Washington’s skies are heavily regulated, the result of the 9/11 attacks in order to protect the White House, Capitol building, and other government locations. North American Air Defense Command, or NORAD, sent a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter to investigate. The helicopter, call sign “Blackjack,” did not notice anything unusual but note it nearly ran into a flock of birds at 1,300 feet.

The alert lasted 45 minutes. During that time a CBS News reporter, Sara Cook, noticed something unusual on a building across the street from the White House: a missile launcher.

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Spotted during the lockdown: a missile battery in position atop a building across the street from the White House pic.twitter.com/IkmjWby2FI — Sara Cook (@saraecook) November 26, 2019

The launcher is an Avenger air defense missile system. Avenger consists of eight Stinger missiles and a M3 .50 caliber machine gun, and was originally designed to protect U.S. Army forces from low-level air attack. Avenger is typically mounted on a Humvee, but the Washington system appears to be mounted on a pedestal on top of the building.

Stinger is a short range system with a relatively small explosive warhead, so it is ideally suited for shooting down hostile small aircraft, drones, and other threats in and around the White House. Stinger missiles are infrared-guided and have a range of approximately two miles.

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The Avenger system could be the missile launcher first spotted in 2004 , on top of the nearby New Executive Office Building. It appears to be in a position where it is only noticeable from certain locations on the ground. It is visible on Google Maps on the northwest corner of the building.

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