Air force bases use night as a convenient cover for test flights. What you saw could very well have been a stealth helicopter prototype test. From what I've heard, the new Comanche models give off less than half the noise of an Apache and can snap turn in less than 5 seconds. You may have seen marker lights at first, then seen spotlights or searchlights being utilized for low altitude test flights. In a remote area, stealth wouldn't be as neessary, so the lights could have been used for visibility of ground landmarks, or to allow for visual tracking from the ground.
I'd say that you're one of the lucky few civilians who has observed a test of the Commanche before it is officially put into use. After all, the stealth fighters/bombers were used in military operations before being publicly acknowledged.
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