National Security Airstrips in California's Desert

by Paul McGinnis

"National security" airstrips in California's desert

by Paul McGinnis (original article posted February 19, 1995)

Aviation Week (February 6, 1995) mentioned the existence of Northrop's Tejon Ranch radar cross section range in California. Because I've been out in that area several times to see the facility, I have prepared some information telling people how to get there with some other useful information.

The Tejon Ranch installation is located at the base of the Tehachapi Mountains in a northwestern part of the Antelope Valley. Some people have referred to this place as the "ant hill", but I think they are confusing the Northrop installation with the Ant Hill Oil Field airstrip on the other side of the Tehachapi Mountains, east of Bakersfield.

To give you some idea of how far you will have to drive to get there, it should be noted that the Northrop facility is approximately 105 miles from downtown Los Angeles, by road. (1 mile = 1.609 kilometers) I recommend using an offroad vehicle (4WD) or pickup truck to get out to see the facility, because some of the roads are quite rough. (I've navigated the dirt roads in the area in a 1988 Honda Civic, and I have to had to worry about damage to the car, because of these dirt roads.) The roads near the facility can be quite rocky or washed out in places. There are numerous dirt roads crisscrossing the area, that are usually not marked, and some are poorly maintained. It would be quite easy to get lost or have your car break down up there. When the maps show unimproved dirt roads in the area, they are not joking.

Using the FCC database, I have found that the facility is located at 34 degrees 55' 25" North latitude, 118 degrees 31' 48" West longitude. The airstrip is not shown on the 7.5 minute U.S. Geological Survey topographic map of the area, dated 1973 (Liebre Twins Quadrangle, 34118-H5-TF-024). It also does not appear on the 1986 Defense Mapping Agency aeronautical chart JOG NI 11- 4. However, it appears in DeLorme Mapping Company's 1990 Southern & Central California Atlas & Gazetteer collection of topographic maps.

In this part of the desert, the dirt roads are given numbers. Although the FCC records list the Northrop facility at 7000 230th Street West, you can not get there by going down Avenue D, and going north on 230th Street West. Because it is behind some low hills, the facility can be difficult to see. I will provide directions to two locations -- one location is just outside the Northrop gate (poor viewing of the base, but an interesting excursion) and the other location allows you to see the facility from perhaps 3 miles to the east. The eastern viewing location also gives you quite a panoramic view of the Antelope Valley, and surrounding mountains. You should zero your trip counter on your vehicles odometer as you exit Highway 14.

To get near the area, take Highway 14 north from Palmdale or south from Mojave. Exit at Rosamond Blvd. (look for the sign that reads Edwards AFB / Rosamond. (Edwards AFB is quite a ways to the east.) Go west on Rosamond Blvd. At 2.3 miles west of Highway 14, you will see one of my dining recommendations in the area, Villa Basque restaurant. Keep going west -- at 15.4 miles from Hwy. 14, the paved road will make a sharp bend to the left and become 170th Street West. Go right (north) on the dirt road instead. At 16.9 miles from Hwy. 14 (1.5 miles north of Rosamond Blvd.), you will see a sign that says Broken Arrow Road (with an arrow pointing along a road that runs towards the northwest.) Broken Arrow Road leads directly to the Northrop gate several miles away (sorry, I didn't take mileage readings for that road.) If you continue north on 170th Street West, you will end up at the eastern viewing site. At the base of the Broken Arrow Road sign, someone painted a blue object (a skull??) on a rock.

If you continue north, you will encounter a short stretch of very rough road (a "washboard road" if you will...). As your trip counter goes past 18.1 miles (2.7 miles from Rosamond Blvd.) you will pass an antenna on a pole. I'm not sure if this is for a road sensor, like on the Groom Lake road. At 19 miles (3.6 miles from Rosamond Blvd.) the road will go west for 0.5 miles and then go north again. The viewing site is 20.6 miles from Hwy. 14 (5.2 miles from Rosamond Blvd.) Look towards the west (left) and there it is!!

You will see a hangar, radar antennas, a water tank, and several smaller buildings on top of a small hill. It looks like the facility probably got more use during the B-2 Stealth bomber's early testing, a few years ago, than it does these days. (The canyon behind the facility is Tylerhorse Canyon.) My estimate for the runway length is 4000 feet (1231 meters).

If you follow Broken Arrow Road, it will eventually come to a gate, like those used by cattle ranchers, marked with Private Property signs. You should not go beyond the gate, to prevent getting charged with trespassing. (I have seen local law enforcement in the area.)

Apparently, to keep Northrop employees on the road, and prevent them from getting lost, someone came up with the idea of using signs with red arrows on them to point the way, and keep the workers on the right road, so you can follow the red arrows also. There is at least one creek along Broken Arrow Road that may have water in it -- cross carefully so you don't get stuck in mud.

It is very unlikely that you will see anything classified up there. Just enjoy the expedition, watch the desert hares and flocks of birds, and relax outdoors, and you won't be disappointed. For those with scanners, here are some Northrop frequencies: (I haven't heard much activity, but I've been up there on weekends.)

462.35 MHz -- main channel for the facility (repeats 467.35 MHz) 123.35, 123.525, 314.6, 382.6 MHz -- Northrop aviation channels (used at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Mojave airport Northrop operation, and Edwards AFB Northrop operations also.) 158.28 MHz -- general use Northrop channel (also used at Edwards AFB).

Another interesting place is the CIA's El Mirage Flight Test Facility, used for testing their Gnat-750 and Predator UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, i.e., reconnaissance drones.) These UAVs resemble large model airplanes. The El Mirage facility is operated by the manufacturer of the UAVs, General Atomics Corp. It has a 3700 foot (1138 meters) long runway in DMA aeronautical chart JOG NI 11-5. To get there, exit Highway 14 at Avenue P in Palmdale, and go east. You will go past Air Force Plant 42 (Lockheed's Skunk Works occupies the big hangar at the western part of Plant 42) and the Blackbird (SR-71) Museum.

(Most of this trip is on paved roads). Go north on 40th Street East, and then east on Avenue N. Go south on 90th Street East and make a left turn (east) on Avenue O. You will pass Alpine Butte Wildlife Sanctuary -- the buttes there are not too difficult to climb, and give a fine view of Edwards AFB to the north, Plant 42 to the west, and El Mirage and Lockheed's Helendale radar cross section to the range. It would be a good spot to camp on and watch the aerial activity above the Antelope Valley. Continue east on Avenue O until you get to 240th Street East and go south (right) on 240th Street East. Go south to Avenue P, and then east (left) on Avenue P. You will go through the town of El Mirage. Look for a sign that reads El Mirage Airport Road and make a left turn there (go north on that road.)

At the end of the road, there will be an aircraft graveyard to the left (west) and the El Mirage facility to the north. Offroad vehicle and motorcycle enthusiasts use the lakebed of El Mirage Dry Lake to the northeast. (Sorry, I don't have any radio frequencies for the El Mirage facility.)

You could also continue on to Lockheed's radar cross section range north of Helendale, California. In that report, I mentioned photos of a radar cross section (RCS) testing pylon. I may have overestimated the height of the pylon, if the pictures I saw are of scale models for RCS, instead of actual aircraft. This is the facility that Ben Rich mentions in his book, where they put a scale model of the Stealth fighter on a pole, and there was no radar return until a crow landed on the model.