- A former Titan II missile complex is on sale for the low price of $395,000.
- The complex was once home to a nine megaton thermonuclear warhead, the most powerful ever to grace America's nuclear arsenal.
- The facility needs plumbing, water, and electricity.
If you’re looking for someplace different to live, and by that we mean really, really different, there’s really nothing quite like a former underground nuclear missile silo in the middle of the Arizona desert. A former Titan II missile complex, the complex is a fixer upper and ready to become one of the few homes that once stood ready to pummel America’s enemies with the destructive force of 9,000,000 tons of TNT.
The Titan II missile entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 1963. Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of being launched from the U.S. and striking targets across the Northern Hemisphere, particularly the Soviet Union and China. The Titan II carried a single W-53 thermonuclear warhead with the explosive power of 9 megatons, or 9,000,000 tons of TNT. By comparison, the Hiroshima bomb was a relatively paltry 16,000 tons of TNT.
Titan II was also the first U.S. missile that was based in missile silos. These silos were sprinkled across the U.S., and some were parked outside Tuscon, Arizona. One of these is now up for sale. The realtor, Realty Executives Tuscon Elite, posted a listing price of just $395,000.
The property consists of just over twelve acres protected by barbed wire fencing. A ladder descends down into the missile Launch Control Complex (LCC). This was where three Titan II crewmen, the Missile Combat Crew Commander, the Deputy Missile Combat Crew Commander, Ballistic Missile Analyst Technician, and the Missile Facilities Technician lived in shifts, adjacent to the missile itself. Total living space is likely several thousand square feet, and even more if you can figure out how to make the actual missile silo itself work for you.
The LCC is stripped bare and exposed metal is in the process of rusting, but it looks relatively clean. There is no internal plumbing and the listing warns that it would need a septic system installed. The site apparently lacks electricity and water, but the listing advises the buyer can drill for well water. Area schools are not great, averaging only 4-5 out of 10, but there’s plenty of room in the complex to start your own school.
The property listing promises “quick access” to Tucson and a 20 minute travel time to get supplies. So, it’s remote but not too remote. Adding to the remoteness is the fact that you can barely see it from ground level, with the entire structure underground. If you’re looking for a home that won’t attract traveling salesmen, this place is for you.
Source: Zillow and Business Insider.
Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.
