China fires missile at unknown object – What exactly was hit?

A fiery explosion lit up the skies over China on September 12, around 9 p.m. local time, near the cities of Weifang and Rizhao fueling wild speculation that the military may have just shot down an unidentified flying object. 

Residents in Shandong Province captured videos of a strange, slow moving object flying unusually close to the ground before it suddenly disintegrated in a blinding flash and plummeted to Earth. Moments before the impact, a red fireball looking very much like a surface to air missile was seen streaking toward the object, followed by two thunderous explosions that shook the region. 

So far, no official statement has been released by the Chinese government or military. But the timing is suspicious: the blast happened during live fire military exercises in the nearby Bohai Sea, where China had already announced tests involving advanced weaponry. 

Although it is suggested that the missile struck a drone or mock target during the drill, the timing, coming just after revelations that a U.S. Hellfire missile bounced off a mysterious object, has many questioning if this was another direct clash with something far beyond routine military exercises.