Cheyenne Mountain Complex To Re-Open, Prompting EMP Attack And World War 3 Fears
Cheyenne Mountain Complex, a prominent icon of the Cold War, will soon be re-opened by the Pentagon. The “self-sufficient town” was buried beneath the Rocky Mountains in order to make the facility safe from an attack by Russia.
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex was reportedly built to withstand a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. The North American Aerospace Command – NORAD, called the Rocky Mountains complex home. Staffers at the government complex were on constant alert while scanning the skies for the presence of Russian missiles. World War 3 concerns kept the Cheyenne Mountain Complex filled with activity until a decade ago when federal officials declared that Russia was “no longer a threat.”
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex became a big of a Hollywood icon as well. In 1983, the facility was featured in the hit movie, War Games. In 1994, the film, Stargate, also referenced the Rocky Mountains facility and imagined it would be a “clandestine home” for intergalactic travelers.
The Pentagon is reportedly in the midst of “refurbishing” the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. The high-tech communications attributes at the facility will reportedly be protected from electromagnetic pulses, or EMP attack. The bunker buried within the mountain is situated 2,000 feet down and is believed to be protected from a 30 megaton nuclear blast.
Pentagon officials announced earlier this week that the Cheyenne Mountain Complex will regain its prominence in the communications and tracking arena for the U.S. Military. Moving the high-tech and sensitive communication equipment to the facility in the Rocky Mountains will safeguard the servers from an EMP attack, according to statements released by military officials. The Raytheon Corporation was granted a $700 million Pentagon contract to oversee the NORAD, U.S. Northern Command project at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.
U.S. Northern Command Admiral William Gortney said that “because of the very nature of the way that Cheyenne Mountain’s built, it’s EMP-hardened.” If the power grid failed due to an EMP attack, life would change drastically within seconds. Sensitive computer equipment, such as life-saving machines used in hospitals, electrical systems in modern vehicles, cell phones, and a multitude of other commonly relied upon gadgets, would cease to function if not properly stored inside a Faraday cage. Because an X-Class solar flare has directly impacted Earth since 1859, and America has not yet been the target of an EMP attack, the effectiveness of Faraday cages is based solely upon controlled tests and laboratory simulations.
[Images via: Getty Images and Wikimedia]
