THE MYSTERIOUS SITE FOUR
MORE SECRETIVE THAN GROOM LAKE?
Site Four is located within the boundaries of TTR, near the eastern
border, about 10 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 (similar to Groom Lake
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 antennas. 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.
Little is publicly known of Site Four's mission or purpose. It
seldom even shows up on maps of TTR, in spite of its size. There
is a rumor that secret solar energy research is conducted there.
However, visual observation of the facility reveals nothing even
remotely in the way of solar collection apparatus.
Discussions with a former TTR worker revealed a few interesting
pieces of information. 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. And oddly, while workers at the main
TTR complex were allowed (and perhaps even encouraged) 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 flights
from Las Vegas.
Update:
A recently released environmental impact report for TTR (1994
Site Environmental Report, TTR), contains a few new 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 facilty is labeled as the "554th Range Squadron O&M Complex".
According to the index of abbreviations in the EIR, "O&M" stands
for "Operations and Maintenance". What is operated and maintained
there is not clear. The location shown for the 554th O&M complex
is about 2 miles west of where other maps have indicated Site Four
to be.
Also, a bit of unconfirmed information has surfaced as to just
what Site Four's mission was (or is, if it still exists). Supposedly,
Site Four was a testing location for purloined Soviet radar equipment.
This could account for the presence of towers at the facility, some
of which were lacking any discernible antennas. They simply had
flat platforms at the top, suitable for the installation of various
equipment. However, the veracity of this information is unknown.
