VirtualGlobetrotting: Military - R&D

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Tsar Bomba Crater - largest nuke detonated
mikeb9991 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: mikeb9991.
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Tsar Bomba is the Western name for the RDS-220 hydrogen bomb (codenamed "Иван" (Ivan) by its developers) — the largest, most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. Developed by the Soviet Union, the bomb was originally designed to have a yield of about 100 megatons of TNT; however that was reduced by half in order to limit the amount of nuclear fallout that would result.

Webster Field Annex (NAS Patuxent River)
boothy443 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: boothy443.
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The 1,000-acre Webster Field Annex is located about 13 miles southwest of NAS Patuxent in St. Inigoes, Maryland. Webster Field Annex is used as an auxiliary field for daylight testing. The Interrogation Friend of Foe (IFF) Program Manager (PMA 213) is located at the NAVAIR Webster Field Annex.

Abandoned Government Lab
skyeye (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: skyeye.
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The Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory conducted research toward the development of nuclear-powered aircraft. The site occupied 10,000 acres and is now a wildlife management area. Remains of structures, including the hot cell, may still be seen.

Dugway Proving Ground
jbottero (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: jbottero.
The mission of Dugway is to test U.S. and Allied biological & chemical defense systems; perform Nuclear Biological Chemical survivable testing of defense material; provide support to chemical and biological weapons conventions; and Operate and maintain an installation to support test mission. Dugway is located approximately 80 miles west-southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah in Tooele County. DPG, covering 798,855 acres, is located in the Great Salt Lake Desert, approximately 85 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah. Surrounded on three sides by mountain ranges, the proving grounds terrain varies from level salt flats to scattered sand dunes and rugged mountains.

HAARP Ionic Research Facility Array
romulusnr (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: romulusnr.
The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is an investigation project to "understand, simulate and control ionospheric processes that might alter the performance of communication and surveillance systems". Started in 1993, the project is proposed to last for a period of twenty years.
During active ionospheric research, the signal generated by the transmitter system is delivered to the antenna array, transmitted in an upward direction, and is partially absorbed, at an altitude between 100 to 350 km (depending on operating frequency), in a small volume a few hundred meters thick and a few tens of kilometers in diameter over the site.
The Final IRI (FIRI) will be the final build of the IRI. It has 180 antenna units, organized in 15 columns by 12 rows, yielding a theoretical maximum gain of 31 dB. A total of 3600 kW (3.6 MW) of transmitter power will feed it.
It is a popular target of conspiracy theories, and though many have expressed fears of the HAARP being used as a nefarious weapon, the scientists involved in aeronomy, space science, or plasma physics reject these fears as unfounded.
-Wikipedia

AUTEC-Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center
giove (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: giove.
The U.S. Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) is an instrumented laboratory that performs integrated three-dimensional hydrospace/aerospace trajectory measurements covering the entire spectrum of undersea simulated warfare: calibration, classifications, detection, and destruction. Its vital mission is to assist in establishing and maintaining naval supremacy of the United States through testing, evaluation, and underwater research.

Space Research Corporation (former)
skyeye (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: skyeye.
The legendary Canadian weapons engineer Gerald Bull operated Space Research Corporation at a test site of some 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) which straddled the Canada – United States border between Highwater, Quebec, and Jay, Vermont. Here he developed and tested powerful, long-range guns. Bull was assassinated in 1990.
Related:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Bull
http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/VT9998/

Area 51 - Aircraft Silhouette
jbottero (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: jbottero.
A black aircraft on the ramp at Groom Lake - or is it a painted silhouette?

Lockheed Martin SPY-1 Phased Array radar test facility
kjfitz (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: kjfitz.
The AN/SPY-1D, AN/SPY-1D(V), SPY-1F, SPY-1F(V) and SPY-1K(V) form today's robust family of S-band multi-function phased array radar systems designed to meet the most demanding requirements and environments faced by naval forces.
A single SPY-1 multi-function radar system is unique in that it replaces numerous conventional stovepiped sensors resident on ships in the fleet today. Some of these sensors include:
* Long range volumetric search radar
* High data rate horizon search radar
* Surface search radar
* Fire control quality tracking radars
The result is a more integrated and higher capability sensor and weapon system that reduces system reaction time, enhances firepower, rejects unwanted interference and ensures safe and reliable operations. The S-band frequency range allows these systems to maintain their level of performance in all-weather operations, perform all major radar functions in a single aperture, and perform proven S-band mid-course guidance for semi-active missiles such as ESSM and SM-2.

Space Research Corporation Quebec (former)
skyeye (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: skyeye.
The legendary Canadian weapons engineer Gerald Bull operated Space Research Corporation at a test site of some 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) which straddled the Canada – United States border between Highwater, Quebec, and Jay, Vermont. Here he developed and tested powerful, long-range guns. Bull was assassinated in 1990.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Bull
http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/VT9998/

Area 51 Radar Cross Section (RCS) Range
cthippo (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: cthippo.
Radar cross section (RCS) is a measure of how detectable an object is with a radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected.
Measurement of a target's RCS is performed at a radar reflectivity range or scattering range. The first type of range is an outdoor range where the target is positioned on a specially shaped low RCS pylon some distance down-range from the transmitters. Such a range eliminates the need for placing radar absorbers behind the target, however multi-path interactions with the ground must be mitigated.

SL-1 Debris Cleanup Site
jbottero (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: jbottero.
The SL-1, or Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One, was a United States Army experimental nuclear power reactor which underwent a steam explosion and meltdown on January 3, 1961, killing its three operators.
The site was cleaned in 1961 to 1962, removing the bulk of the contaminated debris and burying it. The massive cleanup operation included the dismantling and disposal of the reactor and building. A burial ground was constructed approximately 1,600 feet (488 m) northeast of the original site of the reactor. This was done to minimize radiation exposure to the public and site workers that would have resulted from transport of contaminated debris from SL-1 to the Radioactive-Waste Management Complex over 16 miles (26 km) of public highway. Original cleanup of the site took about 18 months. The entire reactor building, contaminated materials from nearby buildings, and soil and gravel contaminated during cleanup operations were disposed of in the burial ground. The majority of buried materials consist of soils and gravel.

Derelict B-52 at Stockbridge Research Facility
kjfitz (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: kjfitz.
The Stockbridge Research Facility is located atop a 2,300-foot hill 23 miles southwest of Rome, N.Y. in Madison County. Larger, strategic-type aircraft such as KC-135s, C-130s, B-52s and sections of a B-1B are tested at this site.

Project HARP (High Altitude Research Project) 16 inch gun barrel
kjfitz (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: kjfitz.
Project HARP, short for High Altitude Research Project, was a joint project of the United States Department of Defense and Canada's Department of National Defence created with the goal of studying ballistics of re-entry vehicles at low cost; whereas most such projects used expensive (and failure-prone) rockets, HARP used a non-rocket spacelaunch method based on a very large gun to fire the models to high altitudes and speeds.
The project was based on a flight range of the Seawell Airport in Barbados, from which shells were fired eastward toward the Atlantic Ocean. Using an old U.S. Navy 16 inch (406 mm) 50 caliber gun (20 m), later extended to 100 caliber (40 m), the team was able to fire a 180 kilogram slug at 3600 meters per second, reaching an altitude of 180 kilometers. The program was cancelled shortly after this. The politics of the Vietnam War (then in its fifth year) and soured Canada/U.S. relations played their role in the project's cancellation. The project received just over 10 million dollars during its lifetime.

Air Force Research Labs (AFRL) Edwards
Engine test stands and launch facilities to the SE including an intriguing facility in the side of a hill. All sorts of neat facilities around here.
The Edwards rocket propulsion facility has approximately 500 researchers, engineers, technicians, and support staff split almost 50/50 between government/military employees and support contractors.
The rocket propulsion group leads a national plan called Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) to identify needs, timetables, and demonstrable goals for improvements to rocket propulsion technology. Participants in the plan include all military services, industry, and NASA. The rocket group's research and test projects are intregal with the plan and its goals. Their efforts covers ballistic launch, spacelift, tactical, and spacecraft propulsion research and development, with the end goal of doubling the nation's rocket propulsion capabilities by 2010.
A key item in that plan is liquid fueled rocket propulsion component integration and testing, called Integrated Powerhead Demonstration or IPD. When complete, IPD technology will be available for application in future liquid rocket engines to enhance performance and save weight and costs. IPD is a combination of research efforts and validation testing to provide new, more efficient portions of the rocket engine that precondition and pump liquid fuels and oxidizers into the main engine. Dual-use components like Hydrostatic Bearings can be applied to rocket engines and commercial refrigeration units.
A major milestone for the research lab and facility occurred on 2 October, 1997. A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the activation and completion of improvements to the lab’s historic Test Stand 1A. The stand is about to embark on its third era of testing the nation's rocket propulsion and launch capabilities. Initial use of the static test stand occurred in the 50's for full-up system testing of the Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. The test stand was modified in the early 60's for use in developing and testing the Apollo era Rocketdyne F-1 rocket engine that propelled man to the moon. The third era supports the efforts of Boeing/Rocketdyne, a candidate for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) launch program. Their Delta IV family of launch vehicles relies on a new core rocket engine technology called RS-68. The engine is designed to generate 650,000 pounds of thrust and is fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
Other efforts at the lab include electric and solar propulsion research, High Energy Density Matter (HEDM) propellant research, and Theater Missile Defense testing. For the past fifty years, the facility and its personnel, teamed together with government and industrial partners, have provided the nation with rocket propulsion that fits its needs and anticipates the future.

Plane wreckage at China Lake Naval Weapons Research Center
Pdunn (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Pdunn.

USS Desert Ship (LLS-1)
USS Desert Ship (LLS-1) is a Navy surface-to-air weapons testing facility at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division-White Sands.
The beginning of construction of the Desert Ship coincided with the start of testing of the RIM-8 Talos missile. Although there was a mock christening upon completion of the building, the Desert Ship has never been commissioned and special permission from Congress was required to name the building USS Desert Ship. The designation "LLS" stands for "Land Locked Ship".
Desert Ship was originally used to test the Talos missile. Subsequent uses have included the Standard Missile, Aegis Weapons System, and in mid-2008, the Standard Missile 6.
The Desert Ship is one of two 'Land-Locked Ships' operated by the U.S. Navy. The other being the USS Rancocas in New Jersey.

Seneca Lake Sonar Test Facility
Seneca Lake Detachment, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, Rhode Island

Little Skull Mountain Tunnel (north adit)
Little Skull Mountain was at one time being drilled for the MX Missile program's stationary rockets.
In 1983 REECo miners, used a 256-ton tunnel boring machine to drill a 750-foot tunnel into Little Skull Mountain as part of the project. The tunnel was later used by the Air Force to investigate equipment and methods for post-attack "dig-out" from underground missile complexes.

Radar Target Scatter (RATSCAT) range
The Radar Target Scatter [RATSCAT] Division is a one-of-a-kind facility combining the best in monostatic and bistatic radar cross section (RCS) measurements. Located on White Sands Missile Range, it is ideally situated to provide precision signature measurements of low observable weapon systems.
RATSCAT consists of two separate but complementary test sites. Mainsite, located on the alkali flats region of WSMR, provides the capability of measuring full-scale models and flyable aircraft weighing up to 100,000 pounds (220,000 kg). On-site radars provide frequency coverage from 140 MHz to 18 GHz with spot coverage at 35 and 94 Ghz. Two ground bounce ranges are available with monostatic and bistatic test locations up to 7500 feet from the radars. RATSCAT Advanced Measurement System (RAMS) is located 35 miles northwest of Mainsite at the base of the San Andres mountains. RAMS is the premier outdoor static range for measuring low and very low observable targets at both low and high frequencies. The 8900-foot paved shadow range has two separate radar systems covering 120 MHz to 18 GHz with spot frequency coverage at 35 GHz. The retractable pylon can handle targets weighing up to 30,000 pounds (66,000 kg).

EMP-simulator

New hangar addition to Area 51.
nico (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: nico.
Really surprised that this hasn't been posted on VG! This is the latest new hangar built between 2005 and 2010? It is really big, 342 width by 180 depth. The opening for the doors is about 175feet? The wingspan of a B767 is 156 feet so they have some room to play with. The wingspan for a Global Hawk is 116 feet. If this is for a new high altitude UAV, USAF/CIA went big.
Could also big for a new high altitude, LONG ENDURANCE AIRSHIP like Lockheed ISIS but then the hangar is small for airship. Maybe a smaller black airship to test it?
Could also be for a new high speed vehicle that we keep hearing about....

Sagamore Hill Solar Observatory
Detachment 2, The 2nd Weather Group , US Air Force Weather Agency,
monitors solar activity, including flares which disrupt communications.
To the right of the site are the remains of a former satellite communications station.

Boeing NKC-135A Airborne Laser Lab
While the KC-135A was usually used for in-flight refueling, the Airborne Laser Lab was a modified version used for flight testing. Similar to the commercial Boeing 707, the slightly smaller KC-135 was designed to military specifications and operated at high gross weights. The KC-135A's initial flight occurred on Aug. 31, 1956, and the USAF accepted its first one on Jan. 31, 1957. By 1966, 732 KC-135As had been built, and the aircraft had become the USAF's standard tanker. It was also used for transporting cargo or personnel and by 1970 was serving in other roles, including reconnaissance, electronic intelligence and project testing.
The NKC-135A on display is one of 14 KC-135As permanently converted for special testing. It was extensively modified by the Air Force weapons Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and used in an 11-year experiment to prove a high-energy laser could be operated in an aircraft and employed against airborne targets. During the experiment, the Airborne Laser Lab destroyed five AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and a Navy BQM-34A target drone.
The aircraft was flown to the museum in May 1988.

Holloman High Speed Test Track (HHSTT)
focusfree (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: focusfree.
Holloman High Speed Test Track (HHSTT) occupies 11 square miles in the northwest area of Holloman AFB and is adjacent to the 4000-square-mile White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). During operations, HHSTT restricts 1000 feet of airspace above the track for safety. Access to the track is limited during preparation and operations. HHSTT has supported up to SECRETSAR projects. The air space over the area is closed to all civilian air traffic and can be closed to all air traffic when requested. HHSTT is a one-of-a-kind aerospace ground facility.
Test capabilities include the following:
* Aircraft: crew escape, airblast, birdstrike, aeropropulsion, munitions launch, and infrared countermeasures
* Missile: guidance systems, aerodynamics, aeroelastics, dispensers, seekers, and components
* Life support systems: crew modules, decelerators, parachutes, ballutes/paraloons, canopies, and catapults
* Erosion: rain, dust/particle, hail, transpiration cooling, material ablation, heatshields, radomes, electro-optical windows, and re-entry phenomena
* Impact: warhead, fuse sensitivity, kinetic energy penetrators, hit-to-kill vehicles, hit sensors, survivability/vulnerability, and lethality.
HHSTT support resources encompass all the engineering, analysis, and manufacturing support a customer will likely need. HHSTT can provide the engineering design for a test, including the mechanical and aerodynamic aspects using modern CAD/CAM equipment. Fabrication shops can perform all the machining, sheet metal work, welding, heat treatment, and NDI that may be needed. HHSTT can provide the propulsion vehicles, heavy equipment, and geodetics for the test build-up, as well as perform instrument calibration, telemetry, photography, event timing (msec), and data processing/analysis.

P-3 Orions or Lockheed L-188 Electras at China Lake Naval Weapons Center
Pdunn (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Pdunn.

Avro Arrow engine test site
The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-wing interceptor aircraft, designed and built by Avro Aircraft Limited (Canada) in Malton, Ontario, Canada, as the culmination of a design study that began in 1953. Considered to be both an advanced technical and aerodynamic achievement for the Canadian aviation industry, the CF-105 held the promise of Mach 2 speeds at 50,000 ft+ altitude, and was intended to serve as the Royal Canadian Air Force's interceptor for the 1960s and beyond.
Following the start of its flight test program in 1958, the Arrow, and its accompanying Orenda Iroquois jet engine program, were abruptly cancelled in 1959, sparking a long and bitter political debate. The Arrow is still the subject of controversy, almost 50 years after it was cancelled.

Upsidedown C-130 at Stockbridge Research Facility
The Stockbridge Research Facility is located atop a 2,300-foot hill 23 miles southwest of Rome, N.Y. in Madison County. Larger, strategic-type aircraft such as KC-135s, C-130s, B-52s and sections of a B-1B are tested at this site. The aircraft are mounted on a very large turntable and rotated as a special measurement probe rides up a 200-foot track that forms an arc over the turntable and airframe. Measurement data is collected over a complete hemisphere in this manner. The airframe is then flipped over and the measurement process repeated to collect data on the other hemisphere, thus providing antenna data over a complete, 360-degree sphere around the aircraft.
Very similar to this site:
http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/28921/

Contraves Cinetheodolite Electro Optical Tracking System
The Contraves EOTS, Model F (EOTS-F) replaced the Askania Tracking System. At that time, the Contraves system became operational in both mobile and fixed location configurations.

Southwest Jet on EMP Test Platform
Is that an old Southwest jet on a EMP test platform at China Lake?

Idaho National Labs Test Area North
Parabellum (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Parabellum.
In 1949, an area of the fringe of the NRTS property named "Test Area North", or TAN, was developed by the U.S. Air Force and the Atomic Energy Commission to support the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program's attempt to develop a nuclear-powered aircraft. The programs' Heat Transfer Reactor Experiments (HTRE) were conducted here in 1955 by contractor General Electric, and were a series of tests to develop a system of transferring reactor-heated air to a modified General Electric J47 jet engine. The planned aircraft, the Convair X-6, was to be test flown at TAN, and a large hangar with radiation shielding was built on the site. The program was cancelled, however, before the accompanying 15,000-foot runway was built.

Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) test range

Amchitka Island Runway and Nuke Sites
Amchitka is a volcanic, tectonically unstable island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska.
Amchitka was selected by the United States Atomic Energy Commission to be the site for underground detonations of nuclear weapons. Three such tests were carried out: Long Shot, an 80 kiloton blast in 1965; Milrow, a 1 megaton blast in 1969; and Cannikin in 1971 – at "under 5 megatons", the largest underground test ever conducted by the United States.
The SE end is in much better resolution close up.

Barstow Marine Corps Logistics Base Yermo Annex Tracked Vehicle Test Area
Used to test Marine Corps tracked vehicles.
The Barstow Marine Corps Logistics Base serves as a storage, distribution and maintenance depot for Marine Corps facilities in the Pacific area and western portions of the United States. Equipment, weapons and supplies are warehoused, repaired, remanufactured and redistributed at this active base, which is the primary Marine Corps facility with this function west of the Mississippi. The depot is composed of three locations east of Barstow: The 2,000 acre Yermo Annex; the Main Base at the Nebo Facility, two miles west of the Yermo Annex; and in between the two, south of Interstate 40, the Marine Corps Rifle Range. All together, the Marine Corps Logistics Base covers over 4,000 acres, and employs 2,500 people. Direct rail links to Los Angeles and San Diego, and the intersection of major interstate highways continue to make this a strategic location. There are several nearby Marine Corps facilities served by the Barstow Logistics Base: the 900 square mile Twenty Nine Palms Combat Center is 25 miles to the southeast; Camp Pendleton, with its population of 50,000 is 100 miles south; El Toro Air Station is less than 100 miles away; and less than 150 miles away is the San Diego Recruit Depot where 23,000 Marines are trained every year.

Satellite Photo Test Pattern

Fort Detrick Building 470 (Dismantled in 2003)
AlbinoFlea (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: AlbinoFlea.
From web.ncifcrf.gov:
In 1942, during the early days of World War II, U.S. intelligence warned President Franklin Roosevelt that the Axis Powers were developing germ-laden bombs. The President’s response was, among other actions, to establish at Camp Detrick, a research effort into both biological weapons and medical defenses against them. Building 470 was completed in 1953, at a cost of $1.3 million, part of the nation’s Cold War defense against the continuing threat of biological warfare. The seven-story building served as a pilot plant for production of bacteria with potential as weapons: Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax; Francisella tularensis, the cause of tularemia, or rabbit fever; and Brucella suis, which causes brucellosis, sometimes called undulant fever.
With the U.S. renunciation of biological weapons in 1969, many buildings (although Building 470 was not among them) that had been dedicated to biological warfare research were deeded to The National Cancer Institute, decontaminated and renovated for cancer research. In addition, approximately 70 acres on Fort Detrick were designated as a campus for the National Cancer Institute. Building 470 was vacated, decontaminated, and has been used as a storage facility since 1971.
Much later in 1988, the National Cancer Institute acquired Building 470 with the expectation that it, too, might be converted to research laboratories. After feasibility studies, however, the consensus was that the building was an anachronistic design. Because of its configuration, NIH concluded that conversion and renovation would not be cost-effective. However, employees continued to use the building as a storage facility.
Over the years Building 470 has deteriorated badly and now poses a safety hazard due to significant structural instability of the masonry and the structural steel framework. The National Cancer Institute has cordoned off walkways and thoroughfares surrounding the building to minimize the hazard to vehicles and passersby. Because of its condition, NIH plans to dismantle the building in 2003.

Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
The US Army Corps of Engineers conducts research at CRREL into military and civilian systems in cold climates.
See also:

EMPRESS I EMP Naval test facility

Radar cross section test facility
Pdunn (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Pdunn.

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.

Rail Cars in the Desert
It's China Lake, who knows...

Edwards AFB Extended High-Speed Test Track
The original 10k foot track was built in 1949 and then extended to 20k feet in 1959. In 1963, the track was shut down and consolidated with the Holloman track (HHSTT).

Italian Weapons Test Ship MM Carabiniere (F581)

Seneca Lake Sonar Test Facility
The Seneca Lake Sonar Test Facility, a field station of the Naval Sea Systems Command, tests and evaluates sonar equipment. Pictured here is an instrumented test barge, the System Measurement Platform (SMP).

Air Force Research Laboratory Verona Research Facility
The Verona Research Facility, providing a wide range of capabilities to Air Force users, is located 15 miles southwest of Rome, N.Y. in western Oneida County. This 500-acre facility supports engineering evaluation of radars, communications equipment, millimeter wave research and information technology systems demonstrations.

Starr Hill Test Site
The Rome Air Development Center tested electronic systems at this facility.

Emu Field / Ground zero of Totem nuclear tests
Emu Field is located in the desert of South Australia. Variously known as Emu Field, Emu Junction or Emu, it was the site of the Operation Totem pair of nuclear tests conducted by the British government in October 1953.
The site was surveyed by Len Beadell in 1952. A village and airstrip were constructed for the subsequent testing program.
Two atomic tests were conducted at the site. Totem 1 was detonated on October 15, 1953 and Totem 2 was detonated on October 27, 1953. The devices were both sited on towers and yielded 9 kilotons and 7 kilotons respectively. The site was also used in September-October 1953 for some of the Kitten series of tests, which were conventional (rather than nuclear) explosions used to evaluate neutron initiators.
It was later found that the radioactive cloud from the first detonation did not disperse as expected, and traveled north-east over the Australian continent.
The site at Emu Field was considered too remote for future use, and the search for a more convenient location led to the survey of Maralinga, where a further series of atomic tests was conducted in 1956.
There are now stone monuments at the ground-zero points, which can be visited by tourists (with the written approval of the RAAF Woomera Test Range who now control access to the area), though the location is still extremely remote (see Anne Beadell Highway). Evidence of the explosions may still be seen at ground-zero in the form of vitrified sand and concentric blast rings.

Fishers Island Radar Cross Section (RCS) Measurement Range
The Fishers Island RCS Measurement Range consists of a mobile radar truck, two radar shore sites, and a calibration tower. This facility, in conjunction with the SSTP, supports the test and evaluation of electromagnetic sensors in an open ocean environment. The Range is equipped with a mobile, coherent, stepped frequency instrumentation radar system capable of making full polarization scattering matrix measurement across the frequency range of 2-18 GHz. The radar system is equipped with a video tracking capability for measurements of dynamic targets.

U-2 Under Tow at Skunkworks

Supersonic Rocket Sled
Sled Tracks support a wide variety of cost effective ground testing, including ejection, environmental, weapon-release, and live ordnance testing. The Supersonic Naval Ordnance Research Track (SNORT) provides testing of weapons and components and parachute systems at operational speeds.

Wind tunnel beside censored area

Santa Cruz Mountains - Military Installation: Rocket Engine Test Towers
hw4x (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: hw4x.
You can see towers and exhaust deflectors here. Seems to be out of commission though.

Former Naval Air Warfare Center
Located southeast of the Trenton Mercer Airport, this facility was used by the United States Navy for testing jet engines.

Ava Test Annex
The Rome Air Development Center tested electronics systems at this site.

F-16 at base of a tower at China Lake Naval Weapons Center

MOD Aberporth
Parabellum (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Parabellum.
Missile and cannon test range.

LIW-Lyttleton Engineering Works
nico (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: nico.
I think this belongs to DENEL.

Meck Island (Kwajalein Atoll)
Alkavian (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Alkavian.
The Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, commonly referred to as the Reagan Test Site (formerly Kwajalein Missile Range), is a missile test range in the Pacific Ocean. It covers about 750,000 square miles (1,900,000 km2) and includes rocket launch sites at the Kwajalein Atoll (on multiple islands), Wake Island, and Aur Atoll. It primarily functions as a test facility for U.S. missile defense and space research programs. The Reagan Test Site is under the command of the US Army Kwajalein Atoll, or USAKA.

Supersonic Military Air Research Track
Parabellum (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Parabellum.
Coleman Engineering began construction of the facility during the summer of 1954. The track consisted of 12,000 feet of continuously welded, heavy-duty rails that formed the longest rocket research track in the United States to that date. The entire facility included the track, launching pad, crew shelters, camera towers, rocket storage depots, water system, power system, communication system, security facilities, administration building, and a shop building. Coleman had completed the base by July 8, 1955, when the first test took place.
Testing at the site typically involved hurling a rocket sled, carrying a seat with a dummy known as "Hurricane Sam" strapped to it, along the track at a speed of 1,050 miles per hour (Mach 1.3). "Sam," in actuality, was a highly instrumented anthropoid simulator with electronic equipment and a radio connected to it. Just before reaching the edge of the cliff the ejection mechanism fired, flinging the dummy over the precipice where its parachute opened and it floated to the valley floor.
This article says the facility closed in 1961 but it appears to still be in use.

Experimental Air Force Jets
Looks like the McDonnell Douglas F-15 STOL/MTD, the General Dynamics F-16XL-1, and maybe an F-5 variant?

Project Plumbbob Rainier shot - first US underground nuclear test
Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site, following Operation Redwing, and preceding Operation Hardtack I. It was the biggest, longest, and most controversial test series in the continental United States.
The Rainier shot, conducted September 19, 1957, was the first fully contained underground nuclear test, meaning that no fission products were vented into the atmosphere. This test of 1.7 kilotons could be detected around the world by seismologists using ordinary seismic instruments. The Rainier test became the prototype for larger and more powerful underground tests.

Raytheon Missile Systems RF test facility
lots of unusual antennas, measurement gear and emitters on the roof, in the field and on top of mounds and /or bunkers.
All part of the Raytheon Missile Systems facility.

Technicians installing radar cross-section test rig
Members of Pratt-Whitney's Signature Discipline Group install at target atop a radar cross-section test rig.

Eskmeals weapons testing and evaluation facility
This facility offers weapon and equipment proving trials over land at short-ranges (to 1.5km), and over the sea for long-ranges (to 49.0km) from 10 operational firing locations.
Characteristics of Facility
* Testing of large calibre ordnance and munitions (larger than 40mm) which comprises performance tests on gun barrels, firing vehicle, propellants, range and accuracy trials and strength of design.
* Testing of free flight rocket systems with inert/practice payloads and a ballistic safety trace.
* Static and dynamic trials into:
* Explosive effects on structures and armour.
* Demolition methods
* Operation of shaped charges comprising multi-warheads, fragmenting warhead tests, explosive reactive armour testing, mine clearance, defensive aids and pyrotechnics.
* Direct fire ranges against targets at a distance of up to 909 metres (1000 yards) comprising both function and accuracy firings
* An ammunition compound for explosive and inert storage.
* An ammunition conditioning capability between +70 degrees Celsius and 60 degrees Celsius.
* Proofing activities to ensure that munitions and weapons are manufactured correctly and are fit for purpose. The following are undertaken:
* Fuse proof.
* Propellant proof.
* Ordnance proof.
* Production proof.
* In-service and service proof/surveillance.

Rocket engine test stand
At China Lake Navals Weapons Station. Others to the east and south.

Aircaft designs awaiting radar cross section testing
From the link below:
" The Helendale Radar Cross Section Facility is an aircraft research facility developed and operated by the Lockheed Martin Corporation. It is a secretive test range developed at an old WWII training field, used to measure the radar reflectivity of stealth aircraft designs. There are assembly facilities located underneath the old runway, and prototypical forms tested outside on the range are mounted on hydraulic pylons that rise out of the ground through doors in the runway surface. The facility is one of at least three Radar Cross-Section facilities owned by the major aerospace companies and located in the Antelope Valley area. It is at facilities such as this where stealth technologies, like the F-117 and B-2, and Joint Strike Fighter are developed."

EMP simulator

CFB Sheffield - chemical weapons test range
Canadian Forces Base Suffield (also CFB Suffield), is the largest Canadian Forces Base and the largest Commonwealth military training base.
Following the fall of Algeria to Nazi Germany, the British Army required a new training facility for carrying out experiments in chemical warfare. In 1941, the federal government expropriated the Suffield Block, purchasing the majority of the land from the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Hudson's Bay Company; 452 residents were displaced. Experimental Station Suffield commenced operations on June 11, 1941.

Unusual three-way arch
Might be on the coast guard facility.

Drop Zone
Field at the Sudbury Training Annex used by the Natick Labs for air drops.

Aircrew Ejection Seat Testing

Subs at the Naval Undersea Engineering Station

F-18 on Radar Mast
KRL (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: KRL.
Appears to be upside down on pedastal for Radar Cross Section Testing (RCS).
More info at link below

Abandoned Radar Development Site
In developing the SAGE system in the nineteen-fifties, Lincoln Laboratory built an experimental radar atop Boston Hill near North Andover, Massachusetts. The site is now an antenna farm.

Santa Cruz Mountains - Military Installation: Antennas
hw4x (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: hw4x.
Who would of every thought? (Rumored they did explosive testing here??? Why not in the desert?) Lockheed Martin/Navy joint venture.

Khan Research Laboratories
Dr. A. Q. Khan, is a Pakistani nuclear scientist and a metallurgical engineer, colloquially regarded as the founder of HEU based Gas-centrifuge uranium enrichment program for Pakistan's integrated atomic bomb project
The Khan Research Laboratories, previously known at various times as Project-706, and Engineering Research Laboratories, is a Pakistan Government's multi-program national research institute, managed and operated under the scrutiny of Pakistan Armed Forces, located in Kahuta, Punjab Province. During the midst of 1970s, the laboratories were the cornerstone of the first stage of Pakistan' atomic bomb project, being one of the various sites where the classified scientific research on atomic bombs were undertaken.

Centre d'Essais des Landes - French Missile Launch Site
From the GE Forums.

Shahid Hemmat Industrial Complex rocket engine test stands
The Shahid Hemmat Industrial Complex is responsible for the development of of Iran's ballistic and cruise missile systems. The Industrial Group responsible for operating the facility is subordinate to the Sanam Industrial Group and it has invited a number of Chinese and North Korean researchers to assist scientists working at Shahid Hemmat.

Gloster Whittle Replica, England's first Jet
Gosell (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: Gosell.
Replica of the UK's first Jet flying in 1941.
In 1946, the first prototype (Serial W4041) was placed in the Science Museum in Central London, where it is still exhibited. A full-size replica has been placed on an obelisk on a roundabout near the northern perimeter of Farnborough airfield in Hampshire as a memorial to Sir Frank Whittle. A similar full-size model is on display in the middle of a roundabout at Lutterworth in Leicestershire (pictured below) where the aircraft's engine was produced.

Iran's Second Nuke Site?
Iran's nuclear program is again making the news cycles after the country admitted this week that it has built a second nuclear fuel processing plant, to complement the one at Natanz.
According to the New York Times, the admission by Iran came after it learned that western intelligence agencies knew of its existence, and indeed the US, UK and French leaders were just now on TV to accuse Iran of having concealed the plant from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for all the years it was under construction.

Raytheon Missile Systems Radar Cross Section Facility (RCS)
I assume this site is used to measure the radar reflectivity of missiles developed at this facility.
To the left you can see the pylon on which the target is mounted.

Wide Aperture Research Facility (WARF) transmitter
WARF, a high-resolution, bistatic HF skywave radar system is located at two major field sites in the central valley of California. The WARF transmitter site is near Lost Hills, California and the receiver site is near Los Banos, California, about 100 nmi north of the transmitter site. WARF is the only testbed in the United States devoted to advanced technology R&D for OTH radars across a wide range of activities. In the past WARF was used to develop the long-range detection and tracking technology that became the foundation of operational OTH radar programs for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and the government of Australia.

B-2 Stealth Bomber on pole
Outside engineering offices at Lockheeds Skunkworks in Palmdale, CA.

New RCS Facility at China Lake?
stu650 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: stu650.
Maybe a new Radar Cross Section Facility at China Lake?

Voronezh Radar Cross Section (RCS) range
The Voronezh facility employes a large cleared area for radar propagation and a battery of land-based radars for signal generation. It is designed for measurement of surface or pylon-mounted articles. The circular platform where test articles would be mounted also appears to contain a rotating central area, allowing for signatures to be measured at different aspect angles without having to completely reinstall the test article.

Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory
Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory is a U.S. Government-owned, contractor-operated research and development facility located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. It solely focuses on the design and development of nuclear power for the U.S. Navy.
The laboratory, founded in 1949 and consisting of approximately 207 acres[1], is operated for the Department of Energy (DOE) by Bechtel Bettis, Incorporated, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bechtel Corporation. Bechtel won the contract to run the laboratory in 1999; prior to that the plant was operated by Westinghouse Electric Corporation.
Also, it's the former sire of Bettis Field:

Nexter Test track with censored areas
Nexter (formerly known as GIAT Industries or Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre, Army's Industries Group) is a French government-owned weapons manufacturer.
It manufactures various weapons and other hardware for the French and other foreign militaries, including:
* The FAMAS assault rifle;
* The FRF2 sniper rifle;
* The Leclerc main battle tank;
* The Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé (VAB) armoured personnel carrier;
* The 20 mm modèle F2 gun;
* The APILAS anti-tank grenade launcher;
* The Wasp 58 Light Anti-Armour Weapon;
* The LG1 Mark II 105 mm towed howitzer;
* The Véhicule Blindé de Combat d'Infanterie (VBCI) wheeled armoured infantry fighting vehicle.

GHADIR OTH Radar
nico (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: nico.
Recently announced by Iran, new OTH radar has an 1,100-kilometer range and a maximum detection altitude of 300 kilometers.

Fishers Island Antenna Complex
The Fishers Island Antenna Complex is the only facility of its kind in the world that provides development, design, and evaluation support for a variety of communication, navigation, and electronic warfare programs. It is located on a low-lying, remote coastal area free from radiation obstructions and man-made electromagnetic interference.

BAe Systems Radar Cross Section (RCS) Range
Supporting BAe's work on low-RCS designs, such as the Replica, and potentially aiding the Eurofighter program, the RCS range is situated on the grounds of BAe Systems' Warton airfield. A retractable hangar allows for test articles to be hidden from view, while a possible secondary measurement platform allows for objects not fitting inside the hangar to be evaluated.
Testing at BAe's Warton facility on the DA4 prototype measured the RCS of the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Zero Gravity Research Facility
forthefallendrms (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: forthefallendrms.
The Zero Gravity Research Facility at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio is a unique facility designed to perform tests in a reduced gravity environment. It has successfully supported research for the United States manned spacecraft programs and numerous unmanned projects. The facility uses vertical drop tests in a vacuum chamber to investigate the behavior of components, systems, liquids, gases, and combustion in such circumstances.

Southeast Alaska Acoustic Measurement Facility (SEAFAC) - Static Site
As the Navy's primary acoustic engineering measurement facility in the Pacific, the Southeast Alaska Measurement Facility (SEAFAC) provides the capability to perform RDT&E evaluations to determine the sources of radiated acoustic noise, to assess vulnerability, and to develop quieting measures.
Located in Behm Canal near Ketchikan, Alaska, the facility provides an ideal ship acoustic measurement site characterized by low ambient noise and minimal noise interference. SEAFAC supports submarine operations over a full range of speeds and depths required for underway tests during acoustic trials. SEAFAC is also capable of supporting submarine target strength measurements.
The facility consists of a site to collect acoustic signatures of submerged submarines underway, and a unique site to measure acoustic signatures of motionless (static) submerged submarines with various onboard machinery secured or under unloaded operation. Acoustic signatures can be collected for a variety of speeds and operating conditions as the submarine transits back and forth between the dual bottom-mounted acoustic arrays. At the static site, suspension barges lower the submarine on cables and position it between measurement arrays to evaluate acoustic signatures of individual machinery components.
The Static Site can test vessels of all sizes and types moored or suspended between surface barges. Submarines for example are suspended at various depths from the surface barges between two underwater arrays and the ship's propulsion systems are secured. Surface ships could be put on shore power with ship power and propulsion systems secured. Test personnel then obtain unique measurements on individual pieces of equipment and machinery. The signal processing and in-water hardware were designed to easily accommodate a variety of sponsors and requirements.

Secret UAV engine test hangar

Propulsion and Structural Test Facility
mlc1us (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: mlc1us.
Propulsion and Structural Test Facility is a facility of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. It was the site where the first single stage rockets with multiple engines were tested.
This site was built in 1957 by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and was the primary center responsible for the development of large vehicles and rocket propulsion systems. The Saturn Family of launch vehicles was developed here under the direction of Wernher von Braun. The Saturn V remains the most powerful launch vehicle ever brought to operational status, from a height, weight and payload standpoint.

Submarine Sensor Test Platform (STP)
The Submarine Sensor Test Platform (SSTP) facility is an RCS/antenna measurement platform consisting of a shore site and an open ocean site 900 feet offshore. Large mast structures are mounted on the platform while on shore. The SSTP is then moved by a winch to an offshore docking station for testing. Antennas on the platform can be connected to onboard measuring devices for collecting antenna pattern or impedance data.

Abandoned Radar Site
Gap-Filler Radar site used in the Experimental SAGE Subsector (ESS) operated by MIT Lincoln Labs.

Naval Surface Warfare Center-White Oak (Closed)
boothy443 (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: boothy443.

Near-Field Antenna Measurements facility
At Fort Huachuca, Ariz., the U.S. Army constructed a compact radar range thought to be the world's largest.
To determine the best antenna location for a particular situation, Dr. R.C. Johnson of the Engineering Experiment Stations (now Georgia Tech Research Institute, GTRI) invented the compact radar range in the late 1960s. The technique simulates a plane wave over the entire antenna under testing and involves two main elements: a parabolic reflector and a mechanical device that lifts and rotates the target antenna.
Although the compact range operates in a relatively small space — most are indoors — it can measure the radiation patterns of antennas as they would occur over long distances. Advantages of indoor compact ranges are security and the ability to operate regardless of weather conditions.

Iran's Second Nuke Site
mlc1us (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: mlc1us.
Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) has obtained satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe of two possible locations of the gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility under construction near Qom, Iran. Both are tunnel facilities located within military compounds approximately 30-40 kilometers away from Qom.
This is one of the two possible locations. The other one is also mapped on this site.

MUOS Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific
maveriick (VirtualGlobetrotting)
By: maveriick.