Site Four
Site Four is located within the boundaries of TTR,
near the eastern border, about 12 miles east and slightly south of the
TTR headquarters. Access to Site Four is provided not only from within
TTR, but also from a gate on TTR's eastern boundary. From this "Site
Four Gate", as it is called, a high quality dirt road heads east and connects
with Hwy. 375.
Site Four sits by itself on a large plain.
It is easily observed from a number of locations, although from a distance.
It is a large complex, spread over several miles, with some of the buildings
widely separated. It is also worth noting that while TTR is covered
with an assortment of camera and radar tracking facilities, there is a
notable absence of these near Site Four, adding to its appearance of isolation.
The complex seems of indistinct purpose. There
are a number of towers containing various antenna, including steerable
microwave dishes, but there are also some towers devoid of antenna.
However it does not have the appearance of a Radar Cross Section facility.
There are a number of earthen covered bunkers, indicating storage of either
explosives or other dangerous materials. What appears to be a main
headquarters building was observed, a large two story office type structure.
Surrounding it were a number of other industrial style buildings.
No airstrip was observed, but other maps indicate the presence of a heliport.
Over the years the United States has acquired a
hardware collection of many radar systems from around the world, including
Soviet made units. These units were taken to Site Four, tested, evaluated,
operating parameters noted and weaknesses defined. That complete,
electronic countermeasures (ECMs) were developed for pilots to safely deal
with these hostile units in a combat situation. It is also likely
that Site FOur was instrumental in the stealth test program.
The workers at TTR's main complex considered Site
Four even more secret than the main complex. People bound for Site
Four had to pass through another gate within TTR before gaining access
to Site Four. While workers at the main TTR complex were allowed
to live in one of the nearby local communities, this was not the case for
Site Four employees. They were required to utilize the commuter (Civilian
Personnel Flight) flights from Las Vegas.
The 1994 Site Environmental Report for TTR conatins
a few clues. While not mentioning Site Four anywhere in the document,
it does identify a facility that would be immediately adjacent to where
Site Four has been shown on earlier maps. It could account for some
of the facilities seen and noted above.
This facility is labeled as the 554th Range Squadron
O&M Complex, where O&M stands for Operations and Maintenance.
The loaction for the 554th O&M complex is about two miles west of where
other maps have indicated Site Four to be.
Sources:
http://www.ipcress.com/area51/site4.html
