Unidentified Radar Cross Section (RCS) range

A few miles south of Walnut Springs, behind significant hills on the west side of the site, and dense foliage on the east side, lies what appears to be an abandoned airport. Terrain and foliage, plus relative distance from highway TX-144 on the west side, and highway TX-927 on the east side, prevent unrestricted viewing of the location.

The facility is not marked as abandoned (magenta circle with an "x" centered on the circle) on any VFR sectional, or, any other aerial navigation map, unlike other abandoned or closed airports across the world, and by ICAO convention (International Civil Aviation Organization).

However, online photography does show both "runways" on site (there is a large, main runway of about 6,000 feet in length, and a smaller, slightly fan-shaped surface of about 1,500 feet in length), marked with what appears to be FAA-standard yellow "x" markings, indicating the surfaces are abandoned runways, but are unusable, unsafe, or both.

The physical location is inside a rough triangle that is composed of the cities of Walnut Springs, Morgan, and Meridian. The latitude and longitude is N 32.02536, W -97.67854, respectively.

The mystery airport is not the Diamond Seven Ranch private airstrip, located north-northwest of Morgan.

The site is easily found on all free mapping web sites. Microsoft TerraServer USA and Google Maps have the best photography of the location yet found.

All roads leading to the location are closed with green-painted US Government gates, and "No Trespassing" signs abound. The described signage is true for the entrance from TX-927, and TX-144. The signs so nothing about government stuff.

January 1, 2008 Update:

Overnight research and correspondence has provided a potential explanation for this location's "mystery" airport.

Apparently, the site is a either a former, or still active, testing location for cross-section reflectivity of different types of ground- and aircraft-based radar. The relative proximity of the Ft. Worth, Texas, military/industrial manufacturing base may have a bearing on the facility. The facility is not a runway for aircraft, in the conventional sense.