I like the idea that accounts like yours are due to a deception system to create false radar echoes for confusing incoming ballistic missiles, with these being

I like the idea that accounts like yours are due to a deception system to create false radar echoes for confusing incoming ballistic missiles, with these being tested now and then so that they are confirmed to work. I don't think this is true though. It doesn't fit all the details and I don't think the lasers to do it have existed long enough, if they even exist now.