With today’s technology, how are governments keeping military bases secure?
Our ability to see the shape and layout of military facilities in faraway places inspires fantastical ideas. More than ever, stories are swapped around the world strengthening myths and tall tales.
Google Earth zooms us incredibly close to untouched parts of the world. It gives us visuals of things we never thought we would be able to see and things we maybe shouldn’t see. Speculations about the advanced technology that exists within Deep Underground Military Bases (D.U.M.B. facilities) easily propagate across internet conspiracy forums. Seemingly innocent fitness trackers such as Strava chart movement. They even accidentally revealed the floor plan of secret bases (oops). Of course, those poor soldiers were just trying to stay in shape.
In a time when we are overloaded with information, it’s important to distinguish fact from fiction. We are here to verify some real-life military bases around the world. These bases have been shrouded in mystery and protected from the public eye for decades. At the same time, their locations and existence have been covered by the media for years or decades, so no top-secret military secrets are shared here, sorry! We’re simply here to separate the fact from the fiction for you, and perhaps stoke your imagination just a little bit.
1. Area 51 – The one alien enthusiasts raided in September 2019
Alien hunters and bored college kids set in motion a plan to storm Nevada’s Area 51 in September 2019. Initially inspired by an innocuous Facebook event, the page attracted over a million potential attendees. As a result, the internet and journalists took immediate notice, on the other hand, so did the US military.
Area 51 is an active military base. For years it has maintained a measure of mystery caused by bizarre lights twinkling strangely in the surrounding skies. As of 2013, the US government has (finally) officially admitted its existence. Therefore, we now know it is a US Air Force training range. That could explain why years ago these rumors caught hold.
This site is potentially where some of the most advanced air technology has developed for our Air Force and military. As a matter of fact, at its origin in the 50s, planes were secretly flying or testing at night. At the time, flying objects seen at these heights and speeds were foreign and unbelievable. Those bizarre and inexplicable lights didn’t make any sense to those living around the area. Hence, they were deemed: Unidentified Flying Objects.
For years rumors of UFOs and alien testing in this uncharted and vast region dominated. For the most part, the secrets and mystery and fascination remain. In light of history, it’s no real surprise that the internet following to go “see them aliens” was so strong.
2. Kapustin Yar – The one in Russia
Speaking of aliens, Russia has its own base laden with incredibly spun stories of extraterrestrial intelligence. Kapustin Yar is this top-secret base. The USSR created the site for developing the Soviet space program.
Russians have a history of latching onto superstitions about magic and folklore and even incredibly detailed and elaborate alien sightings. For example, in January of 1986, an alien spacecraft crashed into Mount Izvestokovaya, or at least that was the report. In any event, the story became a sensation. Even the New York Times printed a piece detailing the large red sphere supposedly sighted and the eye-witness accounts of a 3-eyed alien wearing silvery overalls.
Most of these sightings occurred around the Kapustin Yar site. Since then “leaked” reports from previous employees mention underground holds with extraterrestrial air crafts and cells for conducting Alien autopsies.
The rapid advancements of the Soviet Union after such citings caused alarm for the American intelligence agencies. Subsequently, the US sent spy planes to, well, spy. The photo’s taken document bizarre geometric patterns and highly-sophisticated radar facilities. However, the actual facility is located a quarter-mile beneath the surface. What is still truly unknown and only speculated about, is what exists beneath the ground.
3. Porton Down – The one with a very polite British name
Just a skip, hop and a jump away from Stonehenge in the bright green, cheerful highlands of the United Kingdom is a research center with quite a history. It’s known for chemical and biological weapon research and laboratories exploring the world’s most dangerous pathogens. This experimental testing center conjures images of mad scientists with bubbling potions and goes by the name of Porton Down.
The British christened it during WWI as the War Department Experimental Station. Mostly, it served as their reaction to battle German chemical warfare. As the British can often have double meaning behind their words, what really happened here was much darker than it sounds.
From poisoning agents to nerve agents, this site created and tested deadly warfare weapons. The most controversial problem is the reported human test subjects used in the past and, more recently, animals. Otherwise, the data produced from these experiments gave the military and scientists a better understanding of how to defend against chemical attacks. Though, it has certainly been at a cost.
4. South China Sea Bases – The one(s) floating in the Ocean
You can go on Youtube to hear voices shouting out warnings to pilots flying too close. “Leave immediately and keep far off.” These are the voices of Chinese patrols trying to keep some mystery around their fabricated islands in the South China Sea.
Just a few years ago these islands didn’t exist at all. They were just shadows of reefs under the water near the Spratly Islands. Located in a highly contested ocean territory, it’s a no-mans-land where 5 countries lay claim to the waters. No one can be sure what China is doing here. Whether they aim to control shipping and trade, take over the oil and natural gas rights or expand its military presence is unsure. Perhaps it’s all the above.
What we do know is that man-made islands now sit above these reefs. Sand and rock piles or islands emerge from the ocean with names like Mischief Reef and Fiery Cross. They are home to infrastructure that raises some level of concern, economically, ecologically and politically. The bases include missile defense systems, troops, radar domes, and warcraft hangars.
Here’s another thought, maybe these are part of a network that will eventually connect to the underwater deep sea base China plans to build?
5. Pine Gap – The one down under that Netflix has a show about
Just a bit further South, smack dab in the center of Australia is an NSA interception station. Although usually referred to as Pine Gap, the official name is a mouthful: Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap. This US-run base is an essential key in national global security.
A quite bizarre crop of white circular structures is the signifying feature. Inside these large spheres, called radomes, are domed high powered satellites collecting data from all around the world. Their primary use, thanks to intel from the Edward Snowdon leak, is to support intelligence and military activity. Their function is likely to pinpoint the locations of airstrikes, nuclear weapons, and other military and intelligence hubs.
To actually get an idea of what the inside of the facility might be like, the Netflix show by the same name is a good watch. The show uses insider information from a 23-year US veteran of the NSA who provides authentic feedback on what life is like inside of Pine Gap.