US nuclear, missile and aircraft test sites in Google Earth images

26


Even the smallest states that have armed forces are forced to spend considerable funds on the creation, equipment and maintenance of shooting ranges and training grounds, where official paramilitary units work out tactics of warfare, receive and perfect their skills weapons.

Naturally, for the full-fledged development of combat techniques or the testing of long-range missile-artillery, powerful aircraft weapons or air defense systems, polygons are required, which can reach dozens and even hundreds of square kilometers.

Even larger sizes of territory derived from national economic activity are required for testing nuclear weapons. In this regard, most of the nuclear test sites are located in a deserted sparsely populated area.

Perhaps the largest military and test sites in terms of area are located in the United States. A special place here are the sites of nuclear testing.

First in stories A test nuclear explosion (Operation Trinity) was carried out on July 16 1945 of the year, at the test site in 97 km from the city of Alamogordo, New Mexico.

It was a plutonium bomb of implosive type, called “Gadget” (eng. Gadget). The bomb blast was equivalent to approximately 21 kt in TNT equivalent. This explosion is considered the beginning of the nuclear age.

As a result of the explosion of a nuclear device installed on a metal tower, within a radius of several hundred meters, sintering of sandy soil occurred, and a glassy crust was formed. However, over time, nature has taken its toll, and now the site of a nuclear test is not very different from the surrounding desert.


Satellite image of Google Earth: the site of the first nuclear test


At the moment, the site of the first nuclear explosion in the 500 radius of meters is fenced with a metal fence, in the center of which there is a memorial sign. The level of radiation in this area is no longer a threat to health, and excursion groups regularly visit the site of the first nuclear test.

From 1946 to 1958, the atolls of Bikini and Eniwetok, Marshall Islands, became the site of the American nuclear tests. In total, on these atolls, the United States conducted 1946 nuclear tests in the period from 1958 to 67.


Satellite image of Google Earth: Bikini Atoll. In the northwestern cape, a crater formed during the testing of the “hydrogen bravo” hydrogen bomb with 15 power Mt 1 in March 1954 was visible


Google Earth Satellite Image: Craters at the site of thermonuclear tests at Eniwetok Atoll


The largest US nuclear test site is the Nevada Test Site (English Nevada Test Site), created in 1951 year. The landfill is located in the south of Nevada in Nye County, 105 km north-west of Las Vegas, in an area of ​​about 3500 km². Here 928 test nuclear explosions were carried out, 828 of which are underground. The first nuclear explosion at this site was conducted on 27 on January 1951 of the year. It was a tactical nuclear charge with power 1 CT.


Google Earth Satellite Image: Nuclear Test Site in the Nevada Desert


Buildings typical for European and American cities were erected at the site, various equipment, vehicles and fortifications were located. All these objects were at different distances and at different angles to the points of the explosion. During tests of nuclear charges, high-speed cameras located in protected locations recorded effects from blast waves, radiation, light radiation and other damaging factors of nuclear explosions.

6 July 1962, as part of Operation Lemeh, a program to study the use of nuclear weapons for mining, craters and other "peaceful" targets, was a nuclear test of the Storax Sedan (English Storax Sedan).

A thermonuclear blast with a power of about 104 kt raised the dome of the earth by 90 m above the desert. In this case, more than 11 million tons of soil was thrown. As a result of the explosion, a crater with a depth of 100 m and a diameter of about 390 m was formed. The explosion caused a seismic wave equivalent to an earthquake measuring 4,75 magnitude on the Richter scale.


Google Earth Satellite Image: Sedan Crater


The explosion produced a very large number of radionuclides. The level of radiation at the edge of the crater after 1 an hour after the explosion amounted to 500 X-rays per hour. Of all the nuclear tests conducted in the United States, Sedan ranks first in the overall activity of radionuclide deposition. It is estimated that it contributed to the release of about 7% of the total amount of radioactive fallout that fell on the US population during all nuclear tests at the Nevada test site. But already after months of 7 it was possible to walk safely along the bottom of the crater without a protective suit.

Underground nuclear testing continued until September 23 on 1992, before President George W. Bush announced the moratorium on nuclear testing.

The administration of the nuclear test site in Nevada arranges monthly tours of the territory, the queue for which is scheduled for months in advance. Visitors are not allowed to take with them video fixtures (photo and video cameras), binoculars, mobile phones and other equipment, and also prohibit taking stones from the landfill for memory.

In the US, there are several rocket testing centers and test sites. The most famous of these is the US Air Force Base at Cape Canaveral (eng. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, or CCAFS), where the Eastern Rocket Range (eng. Eastern Range) is deployed. It is located southeast of the Kennedy Space Center (NASA) on the adjacent Merritt Island.


Google Earth satellite image: “Oriental Missile Range” at Cape Canaveral


On the landfill are four starting tables. Currently, the Delta II and IV, Falcon 9 and Atlas V missiles are launched from the test site. The test center airport has a runway more than 3 km in length near the launch complexes for air cargo delivery.


Satellite image of Google Earth: the launch pad for the Atlas V launch vehicle of the Eastern Rocket Range



Satellite image of Google Earth: launching tables of the Eastern Rocket Range


At the site there is a museum of rocket and space technology, which presents samples that had previously been tested from the launch sites of the site.


Google Earth Satellite Image: Oriental Rocket Test Site Museum Exhibition Area


The tests of the air defense systems of the ground forces are conducted near Fort Bliss in the vicinity of the White Sands missile test site in New Mexico. Here at Fort Bliss are based units equipped with the air defense system "Patriot".


Google Earth Satellite Image: Patriot's Fort Bliss Satellite TV System


Largest test aviation the center is the Edwards Air Force Base, the United States Air Force base located in California. Got its name in honor of the US Air Force test pilot Glen Edwards (born Glen Edwards).


Google Earth Satellite Image: Edwards Airbase


Among other structures, the air base has a runway, which is the longest runway in the world, its length is almost 12 km, however, due to its military status and ground cover, it is not intended to receive civilian ships. The strip was built to land a test model of the Enterprise spacecraft (OV-101), which at the end of the 1970-s was used only for testing landing techniques and did not fly into space. Near the runway, on the ground, built a huge compass with a diameter of about a mile. The airbase was used to land the shuttles, being for them a reserve airfield, along with the main one in Florida.

At the Edwards airbase, all samples of combat aircraft adopted in service in the United States undergo a test cycle. This fully applies to both manned and unmanned aerial vehicles.


Google Earth satellite image: RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV at Edwards Air Base


There are also pilot-supported fighter jets: F-16XL and F-15STOL.


Google Earth satellite image: F-16XL and F-15STOL at Edwards airbase


The US Air Force Warfare Center is located at the Nellis airbase in Nevada. The main function of the air base is the training of American and foreign fighter pilots. Various international exercises are regularly held at the airbase, of which Red Flag is the most famous.


Satellite image of Google Earth: F-15 fighters painted in camouflage of the “likely enemy” in the parking lot of the Nellis airbase

In addition to the standard aircraft, at the air base there are specially modified aircraft F-15 and F-16, in an atypical coloration which in the exercises depict "enemy aircraft".


Google Earth Satellite Image: unusually colored F-16 next to F-22


Earlier here for these purposes were used Soviet fighter MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-29. But due to difficulties in the supply of spare parts and the high cost of maintenance and upkeep, as well as due to the problems of ensuring flight safety, the US Air Force recently refused to use these machines on a permanent basis.


Satellite image of Google Earth: MiG-21 and MiG-29 fighters at the memorial site of the Nellis airbase


Also in Nevada is located Fallon airbase (Naval Air Station Fallon), which is the US Navy Combat Training Center. The well-known school of air combat of naval fighters - "Topgan" is also stationed here.


Google Earth Satellite Image: Fallon Air Base Parking


At present, the F-18 of the US Navy is most often “fought” against specially designed and painted F-5N and F-16N fighters.

Approximately in 50 km south-east of the airbase there is a landfill with a large target complex. The airstrip with parkings of target aircraft and model positions of the Soviet air defense missile systems were built here: C-75, C-125 and Krug.


Google Earth satellite image: Fallon airbase target complex simulating an airfield



Satellite image of Google Earth: a layout of the positions of the Soviet air defense system C-125



Satellite image of Google Earth: traces of gaps at the site in Nevada


In addition to the models of the Soviet anti-aircraft complexes, there are also active samples at test ranges in the USA. Of particular interest to the Americans were the C-300 family.


Satellite image of Google Earth: elements of the C-300PS air defense missile system at a US test site


At the beginning of the 90-s, through the Republic of Belarus, the USA managed to acquire elements of the S-300PS air defense system (adopted for use in the 1983 year) without missiles and launchers. Contrary to popular belief, the Americans did not seek to copy our complex. They were primarily interested in the characteristics of the radar and guidance stations, their noise immunity. In accordance with these parameters, American experts have developed recommendations on the organization of measures to counter our air defense system.


Google Earth satellite image: target for high-altitude bombing


In addition to training air combat and combat air defense missiles, in the preparation of American pilots great attention is paid to the development of strikes on ground targets.


Google Earth Satellite Image: Phantom Shot On Earth



Google Earth satellite image: used as targets at the Florida test site: MiG-29, MiG-21, Mi-24

Not far from many of the air bases, there are sites equipped with decommissioned aircraft and armored vehicles, often of Soviet manufacture.


Google Earth satellite image: armored vehicles at the Florida test site


In total, the United States has a dozen operational aircraft test sites, which allows you to engage in regular combat training with the use of real means of destruction.


Google Earth satellite image: Eurofighter Typhoon fighter at Eglin airbase


Much attention is also paid to the organization of joint exercises with other countries with the active involvement of foreign-made combat aircraft. This allows you to develop skills and techniques for conducting air combat with fighters that are not in service with the United States.

Based on:
http://geimint.blogspot.com
Satellite images courtesy of Google Earth.
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26 comments
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  1. +4
    5 February 2015 09: 50
    At the moment, the site of the first nuclear explosion in a radius of 500 meters is fenced with a metal fence in the center of which is a memorial sign. Radiation levels in this area no longer threaten health, and excursion groups regularly visit the site of the first nuclear test .----- This is another argument that convincingly proves that a large-scale thermonuclear war is possible, soon there will be no serious consequences, such as nuclear winter or radioactive contamination will not be.
    1. 0
      5 February 2015 11: 33
      A lover of throwing caps in action.
      1. +4
        5 February 2015 16: 26
        Well, whom did he throw his hats on? He just says that having a nuclear shield on us does not necessarily stop our adversary, that is, our partner.
    2. +1
      5 February 2015 16: 59
      We read carefully: "The first ever nuclear test explosion (Operation Trinity) was carried out on July 16, 1945, at a test site 97 km from the city of Alamogordo, New Mexico.

      It was an implosive-type plutonium bomb called the Gadget. The bomb explosion was equivalent to approximately 21 kt of TNT. This explosion is considered the beginning of the nuclear age. "

      That is: 60 years ago blew up 20 ct. What are mere pennies compared to

      Quote: New Communist
      large-scale thermonuclear war

      Conclusion:

      Quote: New Communist
      and there will be no serious consequences, such as a nuclear winter or radioactive contamination.

      - these are your girlish dreams ..
    3. 0
      6 February 2015 13: 38
      Quote: new communist
      At the moment, the site of the first nuclear explosion in a radius of 500 meters is fenced with a metal fence, in the center of which is a memorial sign. The radiation level in this area is no longer threatening health, and excursion groups regularly visit the site of the first nuclear test .----- This is another argument that convincingly proves that a large-scale thermonuclear war is possible, and there will soon be no serious consequencessuch as a nuclear winter or a radioactive infection will not be.

      It is a pity that they did not know in Hiroshima and Nagasaki .... Yes, with such conclusions it is possible to buy real estate in Pripyat for inexpensive ...
  2. +3
    5 February 2015 09: 54
    The explosion generated a very large number of radionuclides. The radiation level at the edge of the crater 1 hour after the explosion was 500 X-rays per hour. Of all the nuclear tests conducted in the United States, Sedan ranks first in the total activity of the fallout of radionuclides. It is estimated that it contributed to the release of about 7% of the total amount of radioactive fallout that fell on the US population during all nuclear tests at the Nevada proving ground. But already after 7 months it was possible to safely walk along the bottom of the crater without a protective suit .----- this is for skeptics, and a thousand nuclear explosions, in a year will be invisible. it’s necessary to fight for peace, and not sticking one’s head in the sand, like an ostrich hopes that there will be no third world because no one will risk, Americans will not get used to it.
    1. +3
      5 February 2015 17: 07
      Quote: New Communist
      But after 7 months, the bottom of the crater was safe to walk without a protective suit


      Yeah. But how long and how often is not indicated there. laughing

      - A radiation level of up to approximately 0.5 microsievert per hour is considered safe (up to 50 micro roentgen per hour)
      - By reducing the continuous residence time to a few hours - people can transfer radiation with a power of 10 μZ / h (corresponding to 1 milli-roentgen per hour) without much harm to their health, and when exposure time is up to several tens of minutes, radiation with an intensity of up to several millisieverts is relatively harmless hour (in medical research - fluorography, small x-rays, etc.)

      Accumulated radiation dose:

      150 mSv / year - exposure to doses above this - increases the likelihood of oncology.

      1 Sievert (1000 mSv) - the risk of cancer, years later. If the total exposure rate of an initially healthy person does not exceed 1 thousand millisievert (the maximum rate for a career, common to all professions that deal with radioactive materials or are actively irradiated with radiation, as during the work of astronauts in orbit) - his life will be shortened no more than two and a half - three years.

      2 - 10 gray (2-10 sievert per year) - acute radiation sickness with a probable fatal outcome

      ---

      Next - turn on the brain and begin to count. It’s easy fool
  3. 0
    5 February 2015 09: 58
    Google sees everything, Google is like that!
    1. +8
      5 February 2015 10: 52
      Quote: John_f
      Google sees everything, Google is like that!
      Yes, Google, such ... sees what he is allowed, but not allowed - he does not see ...
      1. +4
        5 February 2015 11: 27
        I wonder why the Russian Air Force, for example, does not have "Aggressor" squadrons and do not "paint" on the planes depicting a potential enemy, for example, the US Air Force emblem?
        1. +2
          5 February 2015 11: 35
          We are noble, let the children paint.
    2. +4
      5 February 2015 11: 55
      Photos are beautiful, distinct. But why is there not a single photo of the troops of the Russian Federation in the Donbass? Where are these airborne divisions? On Facebook? fool
      1. +6
        5 February 2015 15: 48
        Quote: Maksud
        Photos are beautiful, distinct. But why is there not a single photo of the troops of the Russian Federation in the Donbass?

        It is impossible to see what is not request But the Boeing crash site is perfectly visible.
  4. +1
    5 February 2015 11: 55
    Quote: new communist
    At the moment, the site of the first nuclear explosion in a radius of 500 meters is fenced with a metal fence in the center of which is a memorial sign. Radiation levels in this area no longer threaten health, and excursion groups regularly visit the site of the first nuclear test .----- This is another argument that convincingly proves that a large-scale thermonuclear war is possible, soon there will be no serious consequences, such as nuclear winter or radioactive contamination will not be.

    I compared one bomb, and a large-scale thermonuclear war)))) .... the goals in that war will not be in the deserts, but in densely populated large cities and industrial centers !!!!
    1. +2
      5 February 2015 13: 22
      And what is the difference between one explosion and a thousand explosions if cities are located hundreds of kilometers apart. For example, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who immediately dropped off in one gulp, which alone, the effect is one.
      1. 0
        5 February 2015 13: 25
        Quote: new communist
        And what is the difference between one explosion and a thousand explosions if cities are located hundreds of kilometers apart. For example, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who immediately dropped off in one gulp, which alone, the effect is one.
    2. +7
      5 February 2015 14: 16
      Quote: igorka357
      I compared one bomb, and a large-scale thermonuclear war)))) .... the goals in that war will not be in the deserts, but in densely populated large cities and industrial centers !!!!

      At a Nevada nuclear test site, 100 ground and air explosions were carried out. Of course, the nearby territories suffered serious radioactive contamination, but there was no global catastrophe. At the moment, as stated in the publication, tours are being carried there. In Kazakhstan, there were 125 explosions (26 ground, 91 air, 8 high) The total power of nuclear charges tested during the period from 1949 to 1963 at the Semipalatinsk test site, 2500 times exceeded the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. And nothing, people live nearby too. Nuclear war unfortunately is possible if the aggressor is confident in its impunity. Photo "after": the site of the explosion of the first Soviet atomic bomb.
  5. +4
    5 February 2015 12: 02
    So, they clearly know who they want to bomb, and we are all "partners-partners"
  6. +5
    5 February 2015 12: 48
    The fact that a nuclear winter will come I also do not believe. But there is no doubt that the consequences of a nuclear war will be terrible. Even weak bombs in Hiroshima have done so much that enough for several generations. Radio nuclides exist for a very long time, just their concentration decreases over time, which means that Americans will still be harmed for 50 years ago. It’s just not explicit.
  7. +2
    5 February 2015 13: 34
    Quote: new communist
    And what is the difference between one explosion and a thousand explosions if cities are located hundreds of kilometers apart. For example, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who immediately dropped off in one gulp, which alone, the effect is one.

    One bomb dropped into the desert differs from the same bomb dropped into the city by millions of victims and the complete destruction of infrastructure, what don’t you understand? Of course it will be possible to populate in a hundred years .. only populate who will be, monkeys ... or a handful of selected old people who they spent thirty-fifty years in the bunker .... When they start using nuclear weapons, everything that is in use ... and dirty nuclear weapons, both chemical and bacteriological !!!! Thermonuclear war is the last argument, and the end of civilization ... .a after the Stone Age .... Another smart uncle said about the fourth world)) !!!!
    1. +2
      5 February 2015 14: 43
      Uncle was wrong. --To Yamaguchi. He was in Hiroshima on a business trip on August 6, 1945. When leaving the tram, less than 3 kilometers from the Japanese, a nuclear explosion occurred, he survived and returned to his hometown of Nagasaki, on which the next bomb was dropped a few days later! He survived again and death came after him already in 2010.---- here the man survived a couple of blows, moreover, not protected by a shelter and did not start to run with a stone ax.
      1. 0
        5 February 2015 16: 59
        “Yamaguchi has been in pain and anguish for most of his life.“ Until I turned 12, my father was bandaged and completely bald, ”says Toshiko (daughter of Yamaguchi), now 60.“ My mother also got caught in radioactive rain and was contaminated. I think she gave some of the radiation to us. "
        Yamaguchi children have serious health problems. His son, Katsutoshi, died of cancer in 2005 at the age of 59. His daughter Naoko has been in poor health since birth. His wife died last year at the age of 88, from liver and kidney cancer. “I also suffer from low white blood cell counts,” says Toshiko.
        Statistics on cancer and genetic "change" in those cities are not hard to find.
        Who cares, visit the oncology clinic (preferably on an empty gut, I seriously), especially patients with 3-4 stages of cancer, and the like lasts for months. For me it’s better to burn out in a tank than that. And politicians, in spite of their influence, stiffness, eyebrow, are very cowardly people, because They understand perfectly well that there are no pockets in the coffin, and in the event of the outbreak of a nuclear war there are no guarantees of their lack of contention.
        In no case do I deny the possibility of nuclear war.
        "What is the difference between one explosion and a thousand explosions"
        The fact that during the explosion, just one single "Kid" with a power of some 13-17 kilotons, drove off from 90 to 160 tons. residents + Nagasaki.
        Drop 5-6 warheads with a capacity of ~ 100 kilotons and Yamaguchi would not tell us this story.
        Trident 2 d5 up to 8 by 475kt or up to 14 by 100kt → 14 Ohio SSBNs with 24 missiles each. And overseas "Sineva", "Bulava", mine mbr, etc.
        You don’t have a nuclear winter and mutants will be ...
  8. +2
    5 February 2015 14: 05
    I don’t see any comments about the nuclear winter, mutants, poisoned air, etc. laughing
    everything has been described for a long time about these scarecrows, saying that all of humanity will perish if there is a nuclear war.
    http://zver-v.livejournal.com/133575.html читайте на здоровье.
  9. +3
    5 February 2015 15: 38
    Interesting article, thanks to the author !!! I would like to see a continuation of the test sites of other nuclear powers.
    1. +5
      5 February 2015 15: 41
      Quote: zyablik.olga
      I would like to see a continuation of the test sites of other nuclear powers.

      I’ll do it first, probably CCCS / Russia, then China. hi
  10. 0
    5 February 2015 18: 20
    And why such an irony about peaceful atomic atomic explosions? In 1983 or 1984. I do not remember exactly. in the Astrakhan region, underground atomic explosions were carried out to create underground gas storage facilities.
  11. 0
    6 February 2015 00: 03
    The author, but it was difficult to attach a kml file with coordinates, or do you think Google. Is there only you land?
    1. +2
      6 February 2015 05: 26
      Quote: BigElectricCat
      The author, but it was difficult to attach a kml file with coordinates, or do you think Google. Is there only you land?

      I think that not only with me, but applying anything is not my responsibility hi Seek - and find out ...
  12. 0
    6 February 2015 00: 20
    You forget that hundreds of nuclear explosions are not the worst. The worst thing is their consequences. Of course, after some time it will be possible to walk around the epicenter of nuclear explosives without a protective suit, only missiles are sent not so much to the cities themselves, but to industrial areas and nuclear power plants. ONE railway tank with chlorine is able to ruin the whole microdistrict of the city. And how much poison will one destroyed chemical plant spill out? And if there are dozens of them? Chernobyl alone spoiled half of Europe with just one block, and then, they were extinguished by the USSR and still have no idea how to isolate it. To bring the country out of the war, just ONE high-precision cruise missile in conventional equipment that has hit the right place at the right time is enough.
  13. 0
    6 February 2015 23: 42
    Quote: Jager
    You forget that hundreds of nuclear explosions are not the worst. The worst thing is their consequences. Of course, after some time it will be possible to walk along the epicenter of nuclear explosives without a protective suit



    So the damaging factors of an atomic explosion are not only radioactive contamination. Shock wave, light radiation, penetrating radiation.

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