US Army Corps Of Engineers
The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is a federal agency and major US Army command that provides engineering, construction, and operations services to the US military and civilian sectors. In the context of UAP research and Deep Underground Military Base (DUMB) investigations, the Corps is identified as the primary government entity responsible for the design and construction of classified underground military facilities throughout the Cold War and beyond.
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Classified Underground Construction
In a 1989 speech titled "Underground Facilities for Defense: Experience and Lessons," Corps Deputy Director of Engineering and Construction Lloyd A. Dua acknowledged that after World War II the Corps became involved in "some very complex and interesting military projects" related to underground construction, and that "several of the most interesting facilities" remain classified. Dua specifically referenced the Corps' involvement in building the Cheyenne Mountain NORAD complex while acknowledging other comparable or larger classified projects he could not identify.
The Corps published several significant documents on underground facility construction:
- 1963 manual: "Utilization of Nuclear Power Plants in Underground Installation" — discussed self-contained nuclear-powered underground facilities.
- 1964 proposal: 12 massive structures to be built up to 4,000 feet underground, including a facility below Yuma County, Arizona, and one in Inyo County, California (near China Lake).
- 1985 report: "Literature Survey of Underground Construction Methods for Application to Hardened Facilities" — stated that "adequate technology is available to construct hardened underground facilities under virtually any ground conditions," with economic viability rather than technical feasibility being the only constraint.
- Five-part training manual (1959–1961): "Design of Underground Installations in Rock" — assumes the pre-existence of underground facilities, describes 50x50-foot tunnels and chambers up to 100 feet high, discusses truck and rail traffic, and advises that "landscape scars, roads and portal structures should be as inconspicuous as possible."
These documents collectively establish that the Corps built classified DUMBs from at least 1947 through the late 1980s, during which time their construction remained concealed from the public.
National MagLev Institute Partnership
The Army Corps of Engineers co-sponsored the National MagLev Institute (NMI) in the early 1990s alongside the Department of Energy. The NMI studied the feasibility of introducing maglev technology into US transportation — but several of the participating contractors (Grumman, General Dynamics, Battelle) are also implicated in alleged clandestine underground transportation research predating the NMI by decades.