The Area 51 Triangle Tower. What do you think it is

I am still holding with the idea that it is a some kind of radar tower or a testing device for optical illusion testing. Maybe it is some kind of death ray device, I kind of doubt it but who knows.

The multiple elements is in line with a phased array, presumably radar. I would rule out RCS in the traditional sense. That is, where is the pole model?

I suspect the tests using this tower are done by planes flying orbits by or around the tower. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so high.

Howland is in a funny position. Clearly they can't put their own photographs on the internet, especially for an installation at Groom Lake. But they can put Tom Mahood's piece on RCS and my photograph on the net since there is at least one degree of separation. Well maybe half a degree of separation since they needed to get the author's/photographer's permission before posting the material.

reply to post by gariac


I guess if they are just linking to something already out there and posted, its okay. I am sure they had to get it cleared by someone though. Funny though how people in the military have to be quite careful even mentioning something from Avweek in a briefing, if it is something still technically classified.

Well since Howland is the radar business, I am sure it is something along those lines. May not be RCS, but possibly detecting low radar signature aircraft. A myriad of different things we could come up with...

reply to post by Clairaudience


It's a film strip a film ,,strip can be encoded, then picked scaned by laser ,, the shadow look at the shadow,, it can be rotated for time of day as well,, ?? any other guess's?

reply to post by gariac

I suspect the tests using this tower are done by planes flying orbits by or around the tower.

I was thinking the same thing. I just don't know why it would need to be so tall. However if it were to test an air craft while in flight, it would make sense that the tower may need to be so tall to proficiently test an air craft.

Originally posted by smurfy
This could be on the face of it something of a find for the OP. It is most likely radar, but it may have other qualities. First off most likely this is SSPAR radar, (Solid state phased array) it is not likely to be a mobile platform, no need for revolving, and can scan to great distances. Sample here at RAF Fylingdales,

www.raf.mod.uk...

Although it is hard to get a view of the array here?? this other link has a picture and the structure is large, and the link has a lot of info and deals with a particular problem for the poster, and also brings into mind other of the OP's options, undetectable in the first instance, and possibly death ray/dar if you want to speculate not even a little.

observations.biz...

Good find OP.

edit on 19-11-2010 by smurfy because: Text.

agreed , looks just like those phased arrays but taller , possibly to to the topography of the terrain , part of comms monitoring station perhaps?

External link here to photo www.subbrit.org.uk...

reply to post by firepilot


To be technical, Howland doesn't link to my photo but rather has the photo on its own server. The same goes for Tom Mahood's RCS article. Tom dropped his hosting.

Originally posted by gariac
To be technical, Howland doesn't link to my photo but rather has the photo on its own server. The same goes for Tom Mahood's RCS article. Tom dropped his hosting.

That's unfortunate.
It's more fun when they link to your pic, and you change the pic to something a little "less appropriate" to make a point