The concept of secret spies and secret military bases has always been an intriguing one for people. While most of these exist in the realm of fiction, the fact remains that a good number of these very secretive military bases do exist in real life and speculations of what they might be hiding come forth every once in a while, courtesy of conspiracy theorists.

To add fuel to the suspicions, the fact that most of these facilities are located in far off places and are guarded heavily raises a lot of red flags. Some of these are known to be the testing facilities for the most recent innovations in military and space technology while others are for medical research or some crazy science experiments. While we may never actually get to know the truth about these bases, we still have plenty of accounts to make educated guesses that these are some of the most top-secret military bases that officially aren’t or weren’t supposed to exist.

15. THULE AIR BASE, GREENLAND

Greenland is home to one of the most isolated military bases of the U.S. The equipment that is housed here has only one task and that is to keep a lookout for an intercontinental ballistic missile launch. Known as the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS), there is a radar that works by shooting a steady stream of waves which are then bounced off the ionosphere, allowing the system to identify any incoming threats within a matter of seconds.

Since the base is located in the North Pole, it can get a bit tricky keeping everything up and running because of the extreme temperatures. There are 4 months without sunlight there, with storms that can lead to frostbite within one minute of exposure. Access to the sea is also blocked for nine months because of the ice.

14. HAARP RESEARCH STATION, ALASKA

If you’ve had a run in with any conspiracy theory pages or websites on the Internet then we’re pretty sure that you’ve heard about HAARP. While the objective of this place is specifically listed to be an experiment facility to shoot some high-frequency radio waves through the ionosphere for research purposes, countless conspiracy theorists refuse to believe this.

According to them, there is solid evidence suggesting there is more to the HAARP station than what is being told. Speculations range from testing electromagnetic mind control equipment to geoengineering and weather modifying technology. Some also believe that the place is also being used to beam holographic images into the sky.

13. PORTON DOWN, ENGLAND

The British ‘science park’ is one of the most secretive and sensitive facilities in the U.K. that is currently being used for chemical and nuclear research. This military facility covers over 7000 acres of land. It is said that they develop biochemical agents which are tested not only on animals but also on humans too (allegedly).

A year ago it was discovered that more than a 100 pigs were blown up and killed at the site as part of some secret research experiment, an act that got animal rights activists very, very angry. Many people question if the human experimentation has helped achieve anything of substantial scientific value or if it was all a crazy old man’s idea of fun. Still, not much about the place is actually known.

12. DEVIL’S TOWER CAMP, GIBRALTAR

The Devil’s Tower Camp is a substantial army installation in the British controlled Gibraltar. The domain has been under British control since 1713 and especially after World War II. A regiment of warriors has quite often been available on the base to guarantee that the U.K. does not lose an essential key area.

The present army of troops works out of Devil’s Tower Camp (the base likewise has the offices to prepare fighters in an assortment of particular controls). These incorporate passage in an exceptionally constructed underground system, parachuting, jumping and even a model town to give urban fighting experience.

11. THE DULCE BASE, COLORADO

The Dulce base is located right on the Colorado/New-Mexico border. It is a quiet town with a population just under 3,000 people. It is also home to a secret underground alien base also known as the genetics lab. Apparently, it is said to be the hub of extra-terrestrial genetic engineering.

Allegedly an engineer who worked for the U.S, who had high security clearance came across a 7-foot tall, stinky, grey alien while he was working on the Dulce site. He claims that when he came across the alien, he took out his pistol (because it’s normal for an engineer to carry a weapon on site. right?!) and shot the alien. He also claims that the alien killed nearly 60 people and this battle is known as the “Alien-Human Battle of Dulce”. This battle left 60 humans dead and countless aliens fighting for their lives. Now, this obviously sounds more like the plot of an Independence Day film than an actual event so we suggest taking this story with a grain of salt.

10. AREA 51, NEVADA

A list of secret military bases simply wouldn’t be complete without the mention of Area 51. In the middle of the Nevada desert, you can sometimes come across a dusty unmarked road which will supposedly lead you directly to the front gate of this infamous secret base. As it is protected by barbed wires, only the officials who work there know of whatever happens on the grounds of Area 51.

It is said that the entire area within the Area 51 is rigged with motion sensors that provide information about any intruders. What really goes on inside Area 51, however, has led to a lot of speculation. Some say that aliens are tucked away inside while others believe that the famous Roswell crash was actually a Soviet aircraft which was being piloted by aliens and the wreckage still remains inside Area 51 to this day. Some even say that the American moon landing was filmed there.

9. DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, UTAH

The Dugway Proving grounds are said to be the place where next generation weapon systems, aircrafts, chemical and biological weapons are tested. It is the size of Rhode Island so everything you think that takes place in Area 51 can take place here too. It has a 48,000-square-foot chemical testing facility where chemical warfare detection clothing and devices are tested.

It is said to house exact replicas of buildings while at one point they even made some and filled them with Japanese furniture, the reasons for which remain unknown. Now the question that comes to mind is, on who and what are these devices and clothing being tested? I guess we will never find out.

8. RAVEN ROCK MOUNTAIN COMPLEX, PENNSYLVANIA

This notorious site is built under Mount Raven Rock near Pennsylvania and Maryland. The site was originally established during the Cold War and it has many names including Site R and The Underground Pentagon. The purpose of this site was that if the country was to face a nuclear catastrophe, this would be the place where all the government officials would be take shelter.

The site houses supplies and equipment that can last 30 days after a nuclear attack. While the government officials are super secretive about what goes on inside, there is apparently some weather monitoring technology used by Air force One on the location as well.

7. YULIN NAVAL BASE, CHINA

China is gradually proving itself to be a strong economic and global power, which is why the Yulin Naval Base holds a lot of importance for the Chinese plans to show their domination in the South China Sea. It is slowly turning out to be the most essential army installation in the area. Truth be told, it might hold the title as of now, depending to a great extent on the current nuclear submarine activity streaming through Yulin’s underground office.

A significant part of the South Sea Fleet’s submarine power has effectively settled itself onto this secret base. On the other hand, a solid blend of surface vessels, hostile to flying machine and missile launches ensure that the base is kept safe from any foreign attacks.  Also, with it rises China’s coercive power in the South China Sea and its surrounding areas.

6. CAMP CENTURY, GREENLAND

A highly mysterious U.S. military task from the Cold War and the lethal waste it covers, thought to have been covered perpetually underneath the Greenland icecap, are probably going to be revealed by rising temperatures within a few decades, researchers have said. The U.S. armed force building corps uncovered Camp Century in 1959 around 200 km (124 miles) from the shore of Greenland, which was then an area of Denmark.

Controlled, astoundingly, by the world’s first versatile atomic generator and known as “the city under the ice,” the camp’s three-kilometer system of passages eight meters underneath the ice housed research centers, a shop, a doctor’s facility, a silver screen, a church and housing for upwards of 200 officers.

5. TAIPING ISLAND, TAIWAN

Taiping Island, better referred to globally as Itu Aba Island, is the biggest of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The island is 1.4 kilometers (0.87 mi) long and 0.4 kilometers (0.25 mi) in width, with a region of 46 hectares. The recent construction on the island has many people concerned.

Many claim that the recent constructions may have some military use. These facilities come at a sensitive time when both Taiwan and the mainland are protesting against the ruling party. The government is reluctant to admit the exact use of the structures, however, military expert Wong Dong said that these structures may have been built to prevent a landing assault. Wong said that the structures may be equipped with machine guns, howitzers or even anti-tank weapons.

4. DIEGO GARCIA, INDIAN OCEAN

How might you feel in the event that you left home for the holidays and were then told that you could never return? Well, that is exactly what happened to the general population of Diego Garcia, the main possessed island in Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, a remote UK state formally known as the British Indian Ocean Territory.

In the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, the Harold Wilson government really needed to come to an arrangement with the U.S., which was about searching for an army installation in the Indian Ocean with the end goal to keep an eye on Soviet movement. Diego Garcia was the solution and as a by-product of renting it to the U.S, the British government won a ton of brownie points from them and a noteworthy money related commitment to its Polaris submarine program. The uprooted Chagossians got nothing. They have a Kreol word for how they feel: sagren – insufferable bitterness.

3. AREA 6, NEVADA

In March 2016, detailed pictures of one of the most mysterious air bases in Nevada were distributed, captured by means of Google Earth and released by the Las Vegas Review Journal. The National Nuclear Security Administration office is known as Area 6 and its secret to the point that even numerous defense specialists had never heard about it.

Apparently, some really high-level work goes on at Area 6, which comprises of a single runway, a major hangar, and a bunch of sheds. Specifically, the office is utilized for the advancement of counter-terrorism based operation procedures. Pilotless planes frequently take off from the base, situated in the Yucca Flat, while radiation-identifying apparatuses are also tested here.

2. MOUNT YAMANTAU, RUSSIA

Russia is by all accounts especially secretive about what exactly is situated on Mount Yamantau. Soon after the Cold War, American satellites uncovered substantial evidence of a secret military base on what is the tallest mountain in the southern Urals. Furthermore, it so happens that this area coincides with a couple of Russian military battalions – Beloretsk-15 and Beloretsk-16 – and also the settlement of Mezhgorye.

It is also speculated that a third army, Alkino-2, may likewise be situated on Mount Yamantau as well – yet Russia isn’t giving away anything that suggests so. Truth be told, because of inquiries from the United States, the Russian administration has guaranteed the site is nothing more than a military fortification and a sustenance storeroom.

1. US ARMY MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, FORT DETRICK

Anthrax, Ebola and Monkey virus are some of the diseases that are usually handled at the U.S. Army Medical Institute, also commonly known as USAMRIID. Over the years, this institute has made significant contribution in making vaccines, disease diagnosis and management with its application on both the military and civilians.

It is the only biosafety level 4 lab under the Ministry of Defense. It employs both civil and military based scientists who work relentlessly to come up with cures for different infectious diseases. However, it is very unlikely that an institute of this level won’t be tied to some conspiracy theory. It is speculated that Black AIDS was spread with the help of USAMRIID. Whether that theory is actually true or not remains unknown.