What is this in the desert of California?

here is a little info on the sea shadow

www.united-states-navy.com...

In the Fall of 1994, SEA SHADOW served for the first time as a test platform for advanced Combat Systems prototypes. These prototypes were adapted to the SEA SHADOW's test profile. The prototypes were designed to be driven by active radar, passive sensors, and Tactical Data Link 11 and 16. The test profile dictated operating in a receive-only mode for track information from Link 11, relying on off-board sensors only. The reference data, including maps and commercial airways, was loaded into the prototypes to cover testing along the Southern California coast. The two Combat System prototypes were the Automated Combat Identification System (ACIDS) and the Tactical Action Advisor (TAA). ACIDS is designed as a decision aid to automatically identify air and surface tracks based on sensor and intelligence information as defined by the tactical operators. The TAA system is a decision aid that supports a Tactical Action Officer or Warfare Commander in determining threats to the own ship based on own ship signatures, threat sensors and threat weapons. Systems such as ACIDS and TAA are of value to various platforms, but are particularly important when mission requirements dictate no operation of active sensors. The testing and demonstration of the ACIDS and TAA prototypes on the SEA SHADOW was funded by ARPA as part of the High Performance Distributed Experiment (HiPer-D) program.

well before the site was finished, but you might be on the right path here just a different weapon / ship / platform. im sure there are code names we will never know.

Originally posted by SeenMyShare

The ground around the two piles has been cleared and made flat. I think the objects are just the sand piled up from the area that was cleared. I don't think this sand came from anywhere else. I doubt it's a toxic dump.

The facilities main purpose is weapons and munitions testing. Sand is a perfect medium to use when testing ballistics. If you look at the darker object there is a section near the top that the dark material seems to be ripped away or blown out.

Looking at the top of dark object. You see a smaller circle within the larger circle. This smaller circle I think is the impact zone of whatever shell, mortar, rocket or missile they were testing. Perhaps the weapon was not armed and they were only testing the firing and aiming mechanisms of the weapons. No high explosives.

I think these are piles of sand for target practice. The small circle looks like the impact zone. I think the area at the top of the dark object was blown out by the impact also. I think the black material is just a way to contain the sand from blowing away during testing and normal winds.

I also think the second pile of sand at the bottom is used for the same purpose but is just for smaller munitions testing. The shape I think is a tall round pile of sand. Which is hard to ascend or climb by foot or vehicle. They made a ramp / walkway.

I think they replace the black material for each new test. So in previous dated pictures it might look like water. But I think that is just an illusion. The later dated pictures seem to clearly show it being some kind of tarp or plastic covering.

If you test smaller ballistics like guns it is common to fire into a barrel full of sand to be able to stop the bullet and then examine the shell still in good condition. This appears to me to be a large scale model of a target for testing multiple types of weapons and is quickly and easily repaired.

They can test targeting and aiming systems, rough estimates of damage / blast zone of explosive weapons. Cheap and efficient way to do basic early development tests of weapons. No water, no toxic waste. Just sand to shoot stuff at IMHO.

got to love Occam's razor.

en.wikipedia.org...

dosnt mean its right all the time but its a start.

reply to post by omegacorps


In Ben Rich's auto bio he said that had a huge issue with the wild horses drinking all the water so they had to add salt to prevent it LOL. No doubt there have been many other tests. The Arleigh Burke class DD have stealth features and several new ones like the Zumwalt and the LCS have it as well. Have to test them somewhere.

I also dont think its a dump. Too close to a population center. in the 50-60's It would not matter but these days theys till dump them but they try to keep them out of sight.

I don't have my.computer right now so can't look at it on Google earth but to answer everyone's question about how big it is, why don't you just use the distance measuring tool in GE's tools? I use it all the time when searching GE for measuring widths of rivers and ponds as well as measuring mounds to see if they are potential Indian temple or burial mounds.


It will measure in many scales and is very accurate. You can measure straight lines or routes.

reply to post by Nucleardiver


lol yeah it was pointed out to me a page or two ago. * face palms *

realy some great info from every one thank you all who posted. im sure i can dig something else up one of these days.

Originally posted by omegacorps
reply to post by Nucleardiver

 

lol yeah it was pointed out to me a page or two ago. * face palms *

Oh, I read the first 3 pages then just posted.

I was sent to China Lake several times for security details and there is some serious strange # there and they are deadly serious about "what you do here, what you see here stays here". I would say it is up there with Groom Lake on the weirdness scale.

Originally posted by FredT
I also dont think its a dump. Too close to a population center. in the 50-60's It would not matter but these days theys till dump them but they try to keep them out of sight.

They have a dump already... at Hawthorne Nevada Huge dump for the Army and the Navy. Covered that in the article;
Navy Submarine Base Under the Nevada Desert?
www.abovetopsecret.com...

The dark material is a plastic tarp... parts of it are wind torn. I still don't know what it is exactly and so far no reply to my request from the base. China Lake has awesome petroglyphs and I was asking for permission to view those at the same time

Originally posted by niceguybob
I "heard" there is a tunnel from Vandenburg to the Naval Base and that the base is where we actually launch,build and service our nuclear submarine program.

Actually that submarine base is at Walker Lake Hawthorn Nevada and the have a sign posted but the underground passages don't lead to Vandenburg... but Monterey Bay

I also heard that seismatic activity in Nevada that get's swarms in regions is really the tunnel boring equipment making more tunnels.

yes several swarms.. all focused in a small group, at the same depth... the latest a few days ago directly under NUWC on Hwy 95, edge of Walker lake... right where the sign and gate is


A few years ago John Lear took a picture of the sign and a guard came to stop him... so on the next trip we took the picture 'on the fly'



Here is the most recent Earthquake swarm

Originally posted by omegacorps
here is a little info on the sea shadow

Ah yes the Stealth Hydrofoil

I was there at Alameda when they declassified that... have my own pictures...





This one is taken from the deck of the Carrier Hood... the guy with the video camera is doing the filming for the public release documentary

reply to post by zorgon


great info. thank you

i dropped a few E mails to china lake and the navy. lets see what happens. im holding my breath. any one have any other contact info for them? what i found was at the end of a trail of dead links provided by them. im sure my e mail is sitting on a server in guam right now.

Originally posted by omegacorps
i dropped a few E mails to china lake and the navy. lets see what happens. im holding my breath. any one have any other contact info for them? what i found was at the end of a trail of dead links provided by them. im sure my e mail is sitting on a server in guam right now.

Always seek out the Public Relations email... those usually get the best results

www.cnic.navy.mil...

reply to post by zorgon


yep that was first on the list. after there link was broke i found it through a little side stepping on the same site.

sent the pics and the long / lat with my statement. seen the section just for the petro tours.

we need to get a group together and take a tour. that would be a first for ATM and my self.

seeing it is close to china lake,and therefore a likely navy operation.therefore seeing i have even seen the navy admit on the discovery channel or similar,they are producing a rail gun.(not as in ww2 rail gun,transported by railway,i mean a magnetically accelerated projectile) for use on battleships.this is probably a berm to stop or slow a concussion wave at one end and the black and white end is prob a reinforced sandbank,i would imagine netting of loose local rock compacted on top.
that is what i think anyway.mind you depending on scale maybe it could be an off road practise driving course.a lot of quads and dune buggys etc in use in the middle east conflicts by navy seals etc (obvious china lake connection NAVY seals) large flat areas could be for drills involving moving vehicles in tactical formation,interlocking fields of fire etc.i would imagine this would be best practised in a flat high visiblity area. high bermed areas could also be used either for basic off road drivings skills,(in simple terms fast uphill,slow downhill) or again as a backstop for live weapons exercises.

reply to post by zorgon

I can't remember the source, but I remember that there were people that witnessed a several miles long line of cement trucks along 395. Apparently for the construction of a "Skunk works" underground base."

here is a rail gun test.



now the site would make sense as a stopping point for a projectile, but the gun would need to be mounted some where on an elevated platform in order to hit that " target " at ground level.

Since i live in Ridgecrest and was a security officer on the base when going to collage after a my navy time.

Due to the environmental laws in Calif the navy has had to do a lot of things to keep toxic chemicals like TNT, perchlorates and other chemicals in explosives from leaching into the ground water. (no not DU as China Lake is not cleared to use it on there ranges)

What you see is a very very large containment pad.
A large pad is made by laying 60 mil plastic and covering it with 10 to 15 feet of dirt.

By its location on one of instrumented ranges used for precision weapons testing this target pad will likely get a lot of use.

Yes a lot of strange things go on at China Lake.

And there UFO hanger is not at the air field.
There UFO hanger is called the MESA building. to just get to it you have to pass through three levels of security
the main base gate then the range airfield gates then the Mesa building security gate.
35º 39' 36.30"N 117º 39' 49.80"W
The building has one big room that is a Faraday cage.(to keep RF emissions in not out ) and is 100 feet wide X 350 feet long and 100 feet tall plus the building is half buried in the ground and you can see the ramp down to the building floor on the east side.
They have two over head cranes in the building that each can lift a F4 phantom size aircraft.
If i told you anything else i would have to shoot you. then myself

reply to post by ANNED


so this site was built after 95. is there a prior munitions site for testing?

reply to post by omegacorps


I am having the same WTF moment. Especially when I noticed something else... Sorry if someone noticed this earlier as I am at work taking a quick break so I don't have time to comb through the pages... But.... Did anyone notice the organized tanks south of this "object"? They are all placed rather well in my opinion, just look at them all on the other side of the road, at least a dozen or two. It could be a test range, or they could be guarding the object... I also noticed how they are only on the south side of the object where the dirt roads are as there are no roads on the northern side, which leads me to think they are guarding... Just thought I'd throw that out there.