--- title: "Man Finds Missile-Like Object With Ominous Blinking Light" description: "A man discovered a torpedo-shaped object that had some \"unsettling\" blinking light. It turned out to be a training device for the Navy." date: "2024-02-14" modified: "2024-02-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/man-missile-object-blinking-light" categories: - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "missiles" - "sonar" - "the digest" --- # Man Finds Missile-Like Object With Ominous Blinking Light ![A man discovered a torpedo-shaped object that had some "unsettling" blinking light. It turned out to be a training device for the Navy.]() *\Image: Tyler Davis\* ## Missing Missile A man made a disturbing discovery while walking down a beach in Sampson State Park, around 250 miles northwest of New York City. Tyler Davis came across a torpedo-shaped object that had an "unsettling" blinking light, as the [*Miami Herald* reports](), a terrifying find that fortunately had a non-explosive ending. "Well I think I stumbled upon a torpedo maybe?" Davis wrote in a Facebook post over the weekend, as quoted by the newspaper. "Did you try and hit it with a hammer?" one particularly daring user wrote in the comments. ## Dummy Sub As it turns out, Davis was never at risk of triggering a blast. "The thought of taking it definitely popped up, but with it still working and blinking I wanted to return it," he told the *Miami Herald*. After examining the torpedo for details, he found a phone number. After leaving a message, he finally got a call that solved the mystery once and for all. The terrifying-looking device belonged to the US military's nearby Seneca Lake Sonar Test Facility, Davis told the newspaper. It wasn't an active weapon, but a training device, which acts as a dummy submarine so that sailors can "train their detection, tracking and weapon employment skills," according to the [Navy's website](). "When I was finally contacted they thanked me... and had me pinpoint it on a map so they could retrieve it," Davis told the *Miami Herald*. "They said after its course, they return to the surface and get collected but this one escaped," he added. **More on missiles:** *[Man "Extremely Irritated" When Police Show Up to Examine His Vintage Nuclear Missile]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()