- 3 minutes ago
As fears of global conflict grow, tech companies are racing to protect servers by turning nuclear missile silos and abandoned mines into ultra-secure data centers. Meanwhile, thousands of Americans are joining survival camps like Fortitude Ranch that are built to survive catastrophes, or even World War III.
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00:01This is the U.S. military's biggest decommissioned silo complex, which once held three nuclear missiles.
00:10You've got water tanks, you've got diesel tanks, for example.
00:13You can run generators over here.
00:14You can have a nuclear power plant here.
00:18Now, this space is being renovated to safeguard a new vulnerability.
00:26Data centers that power AI.
00:29AI needs safe environments to basically have all their computational processing power.
00:35Big companies have already started moving their servers underground into abandoned mines and war bunkers.
00:43Going deep could help them solve two problems, keeping servers cool and secure.
00:49There's a lot of nervous individuals out there in the marketplace.
00:52The United States against Iran, Russia, China and North Korea.
00:57But it's not just tech firms that are investing in backup plans.
01:01Surveys show that two-thirds of Americans believe World War III is looming.
01:07And so they're pouring money into high-security housing that could even withstand a nuclear war.
01:13It's suicidal attacking a fortitude ranch when you've got 100-plus people with weapons behind defensive positions and cleared lines
01:23of fire.
01:26We visited a $350 million silo near Denver.
01:32Trust me, the view is pretty cool up here.
01:34And a survival fortress in Texas to see how far people will go to keep us and our data safe
01:41if doomsday hits.
01:46In a top-secret location near Denver, Colorado, sits this abandoned missile silo.
01:54It's 165 feet deep, the size of a 16-story building.
01:59So this here was the original entrance.
02:02It's almost like a go-for entrance here.
02:04That's Nick Halleck.
02:05He's a Russian-trained cosmonaut and a venture capitalist who acquired this bunker from the U.S. government in 2021.
02:13And plans to turn it into a storage and data center for AI.
02:18He has a whole portfolio of relics he's transformed.
02:22I'm immersed in a world of castles, underground bunkers.
02:25I am a value-factorer, but I like things that I can add value to.
02:30This is the front entrance to the underground complex.
02:33Are you ready for it?
02:34I think so.
02:35Would you like to pull on that and set that top?
02:37Are you ready for it?
02:38Let's try it.
02:39Let's do it.
02:39All my working out is coming in useful.
02:44Okay.
02:45All my might.
02:46Look at how white it is.
02:47Yeah, exactly.
02:49The door weighs as much as a small SUV and can shield from nuclear radiation.
02:55So, welcome to the abode.
02:56Welcome to the complex.
03:00The facility sprawls across 200,000 square feet and comprises 17 chambers, originally designed
03:08to hide, power, and launch three nuclear weapons.
03:13The government took the missiles out in 1965, but kept using the complex for national security
03:20research before eventually shutting it down.
03:23So, this is the 3,000-pound manganese blast door.
03:27Push it.
03:28Oh, yeah.
03:29Look at that.
03:30Oh.
03:31And you can see here, there's another basement level down there.
03:35Typically, military-wise, they leave a lot of goodies here.
03:37For example, lead paint, mercury, cyanide, asbestos.
03:43So, as you venture here, just watch your head on this.
03:45Nick is filming the renovation, which will cost about $30 million.
03:54Then we can start developing it and basically repurposing it.
03:58But the space is very, very unique.
04:06So, this here is the control dome.
04:08This is where all the action was.
04:11It's where the men who operate the nukes slept and worked around the clock.
04:16So, the fate of the Western world was in the hands of these 21, 22-year-olds who had the
04:21keys to the missiles, ready to deploy them.
04:27That call would come to a phone once attached to this desk, but it's since been removed.
04:33Fire button over here, and you can deploy a 4.5 megaton nuclear missile.
04:39Yeah, pretty insane stuff over here.
04:41This has all the launch codes, launch times, basically protocol to launching a nuclear missile.
04:47So, we're still drawing these off.
04:49These were just discovered recently.
04:51Yeah, classified materials.
04:54Nick wants to turn this area into a museum.
04:57And he thinks this area has a more adventurous vibe.
05:01So, imagine this as a nightclub and the DJs here, right?
05:04You've got a pool here, you've got Cirque du Soleil dancers here, you've got the bars there,
05:08you've got consumption lounges in the tunnels.
05:10Choose your adventure.
05:12All the rooms are connected by this network of tunnels stretching 4,500 feet.
05:18We've only traversed 23% of this underground complex, and we've been here for a couple of hours.
05:23Yeah, I don't think we're going to go see the whole thing.
05:27But Nick has explored almost every inch.
05:30According to the blueprint, she'll take me to the transfer exchange building.
05:35I need to slide down that.
05:38Is that strong enough?
05:39Okay, I'm going to slide down this.
05:42Okay.
05:43S***.
05:47Okay.
05:48Okay, the fish are really stuck.
05:51Oh, s***.
05:53Okay.
05:57Okay, we're officially inside.
06:00Other tunnels are more walkable.
06:02So, that tunnel system over there leads to launcher area number two and number three,
06:07and also the air launcher facility over here.
06:10So, there's another 10 buildings through that tunnel.
06:13This one leads to the most secure part of the complex.
06:17And if you see the concrete here, there are no cracks.
06:20This is like Hoover Dam type engineering.
06:22The walls have an inner and outer concrete shell that can withstand about 15,000 pounds
06:28of pressure per square inch, and they're reinforced with steel.
06:32So, there were three launcher areas.
06:34There were three nukes.
06:36Okay.
06:36This is launcher area number one.
06:38I often joke about this.
06:40These are like pantry doors to the kitchen.
06:42And behind these doors, the weapon that could wipe out millions of people in just seconds.
06:51The solid doors are up there.
06:53That would open up.
06:54The missile would be raised to the surface.
07:01Here's what this room looked like back when it held a Titan nuclear missile.
07:06The U.S. constructed 18 silos just like it during the Cold War.
07:10Another powerful deterrent weapon goes on duty for Uncle Sam.
07:14The first squadron of underground Titan intercontinental missiles to become combat-ready
07:19stand in firing positions at Lowry Air Force Base near Denver.
07:23Each silo took around three years and thousands of workers to finish.
07:29But by the mid-60s, many were already decommissioned.
07:33Because the newer facilities could launch missiles 15 times faster.
07:38And in time of a nuclear war, minutes are very, very important.
07:43This silo cost $47 million to build in 1959.
07:48That's about $350 million today when adjusted for inflation.
07:53And Nick acquired it 62 years later for over $10 million.
07:59Today, he uses this room to film videos for his own creative projects.
08:08We have a lot of fun in here.
08:09You know, this is just groundwater.
08:11You can swim in this.
08:12So we have America's deepest swimming pool.
08:14But seeing a shark fin would be awesome, wouldn't it?
08:16But soon, the security this space offers could matter again.
08:21For what it may hold next, a data center.
08:25AI needs power.
08:27AI needs safe environments to basically have all their computational processing power.
08:33Another room already has the infrastructure to generate the energy to support AI operations
08:39without relying on the grid.
08:41This now is the power section of the complex.
08:44This is the power dome.
08:48Here's a money shot.
08:49Yeah, so that was the power plant just there.
08:51So this was a very, very noisy ram.
08:53So this was the air intake.
08:55Here, four giant diesel engines powered the complex
08:59and could keep it running if the grid went down.
09:03With the fuel stored here,
09:05the engines could generate enough energy
09:07to power a couple thousand homes for about two weeks.
09:11or one average-sized data center.
09:14We've got the first diesel tank.
09:17There's actually three of these.
09:19That's the second one.
09:20Look how big it is.
09:21Although, do you want to scale a reference?
09:23Do you want to just go next to it for a sec?
09:24It's a lot bigger than me.
09:26Would diesel cook this whole?
09:28About 50,000 gallons.
09:30But to run AI,
09:31he says he'd install small nuclear reactors
09:34to avoid being so dependent on refueling.
09:37The natural temperature down here
09:39is another major reason Nixie's promise.
09:43And during the summertime,
09:44when it's like that, you know,
09:44typical Colorado,
09:46it's like 95 degrees Fahrenheit in the summertime.
09:48But in here,
09:50it stays 52 degrees Fahrenheit.
09:52It's a perfect environment all year round.
09:56That's a big deal for servers.
09:58Keeping them cool can eat up
10:00a third of data centers' electricity.
10:02And demand spikes in the summer
10:04when temperatures rise.
10:06That's one reason why Nick already has interest
10:09from big tech companies
10:10and AI conglomerates.
10:12He couldn't disclose which ones.
10:14But storing data underground
10:16is becoming more common all over the world.
10:20Like in Sweden.
10:21This data center called Pionin
10:23sits in a former Cold War bunker near Stockholm.
10:27It even stores WikiLeaks servers.
10:30In neighboring Norway,
10:32nearly 500 feet inside a mountain,
10:34this old gemstone mine
10:36now houses a six-story data center.
10:39It lives completely off the grid
10:41and uses water from a fjord and glaciers
10:44to help stay cool.
10:45In the U.S.,
10:47the biggest known hub
10:48belongs to a company called Iron Mountain.
10:51It sits inside an abandoned limestone mine
10:54in Pennsylvania.
10:55At 220 feet deep,
10:57the facility sprawls 40 acres,
11:00around nine times the size of Nick's silo.
11:03But that's still tiny.
11:05Just a tenth of the size of the data campuses
11:08Amazon and Google are building above ground,
11:11which stretch across 500 acres.
11:14Experts say moving those below
11:17is extra challenging.
11:19Even though it's cooler down here,
11:22servers would heat the air fast
11:24without a large-scale ventilation system,
11:26which is really expensive.
11:28Plus, the wider and deeper you dig,
11:31the more you're fighting the land itself.
11:33Groundwater pressure,
11:35leaks,
11:35and flooding,
11:36driving the price tag further up.
11:39But experts say
11:40data centers need to find new ways to stay cool,
11:44especially as government reports warn
11:46that if demand for electricity keeps growing,
11:50blackouts could become 100 times more common by 2030.
11:55And any long-term power failures
11:58could be catastrophic for everyone.
12:00The electric rate is well known.
12:03It's a disaster waiting to happen.
12:05It's the Achilles heel of the United States.
12:07People are going to die.
12:08Buildings are going to be looted.
12:09And if you don't have a lot of guards on duty
12:11all the time,
12:13you can't survive.
12:15That's why it isn't just corporations
12:17that are prepping for the worst-case scenario,
12:19but people too.
12:24Perched on a hill
12:25in a secret location in Texas
12:27is this 20-acre estate
12:29called Fortitude Ranch.
12:32If you think you can just hide underground,
12:34you're crazy.
12:36In a collapse,
12:37there's going to be starving people going everywhere
12:39trying to find a deer.
12:41Drew Miller runs this place.
12:43The retired Air Force intelligence colonel
12:46once helped NATO
12:47with peacekeeping missions.
12:48Now, he's building fortress-like communities
12:51where people can seek shelter
12:53from catastrophic events
12:55like a nuclear blast.
12:57When the s**t hits the fan,
12:58that is the official prepper term.
13:00I was bleeped on Fox News for saying that.
13:03But when the s**t hits the fan,
13:05and that's actually the term preppers use,
13:07that's HDF.
13:09These camps are located
13:10far from major cities that could be targets
13:13and have underground bunkers
13:15to protect against nuclear fallout.
13:17But once it's safe to come out,
13:19Drew says the best defensive position
13:22isn't underground.
13:23It's high above.
13:25Okay, this is actually
13:26the tallest log home in the world.
13:28And we like to build out of logs
13:30because they're fantastic
13:32for stopping bullets,
13:33contrary to popular opinion.
13:38Every member has to come armed.
13:40And Drew trains them for guard duty.
13:43They don't believe that government
13:45is going to protect them.
13:46You ready?
13:53And that's a lot of dead marauders, hopefully.
13:57Oh, yeah, that plastered that puppy.
14:00That's a lot of good holes there.
14:02He employs mainly former military personnel
14:05to help with training.
14:06Just fire up when you're ready.
14:08Like Maddie,
14:09who used to be a U.S. Army intelligence officer.
14:14Okay, set her down.
14:16Let's go see.
14:17I mean, I come down
14:18and I try to practice whenever I can,
14:20whenever I have some time.
14:21I love it out here.
14:23It's very peaceful.
14:24Not a lot of crowds or clusters.
14:29Drew stores all the staff weapons
14:31and ammunition
14:32in vaults throughout the camp.
14:34This I want to show you
14:35is a recent buy.
14:38This is a 10-gauge.
14:40You know, this can shoot a,
14:41take down a goose at up to 60 yards.
14:43In the initial days
14:45is we are shooting
14:46every edible creature we can find.
14:48So we'll be making jerky out of it.
14:50We have a crossbow here
14:51because the deer tries
14:52to come into our gardens.
14:54We can't shoot with the weapon
14:55because if you hear a gunshot
14:57during a collapse,
14:58that means we could be under attack.
15:01He also stores ready rations
15:03and high-calorie survival bars.
15:05We call this our end days food
15:08because we don't want to eat this
15:09unless things are getting
15:10really, really bad.
15:11But he doesn't think
15:12he'll ever need those
15:13as he has hopes
15:14of growing crops here too.
15:16With farming, Drew says,
15:18you could survive
15:19at this camp for years.
15:20I really hope
15:21you don't edit this out.
15:22Every American,
15:23if you've got a front lawn,
15:24for Christ's sake,
15:25plant some Jerusalem artichoke.
15:27It'll grow.
15:28It looks like a sunflower.
15:29It'll expand.
15:30And it's got roots
15:31that you can eat
15:32to keep yourself alive
15:34in a collapse.
15:35They also raise animals
15:36at this ranch
15:37as a source of food
15:38for when things may get rough.
15:40This is where we keep the livestock.
15:42We do rotate them,
15:43especially depending on seasons.
15:52And then here are the baby chickens.
15:58The eggs came from our ranch in Nevada.
16:01I'm going to work on incubating
16:04the next batch.
16:05And our goal is to grow
16:07our chicken population
16:08as much as we possibly can
16:10because, as I said,
16:10it's a great source of protein
16:12that's constantly given.
16:13He's a Dalai Lama.
16:15That's our fierce protector
16:17here at Fortitude Ranch, Texas.
16:19Does a great job.
16:20He seems like he's got
16:21a lot of thoughts going on.
16:23We just can't.
16:24We just don't know
16:24what he's making.
16:26Drew is also stockpiling
16:28medical supplies
16:29in case people get sick.
16:31This is an operating table here.
16:33Stretchers down there.
16:34Hope we don't have to use those.
16:35We've got military stretchers there.
16:37But the more important thing
16:39than all this physical resource
16:40is our membership.
16:42Those who want
16:42this kind of shelter
16:44have to pay a quarterly
16:45membership fee
16:46of a couple of hundred dollars
16:48and dish out $11,000
16:50to reserve a room like this
16:52for 10 years.
16:53This is actually
16:54a doctor's couple.
16:55This is their room.
16:56And again,
16:57this is their stuff in here.
16:58A lot of folks
16:59bring their own alcohol,
17:00so that's what they've got.
17:01They've got toilet paper
17:03and food and alcohol.
17:04Someone's already got
17:06a really big family
17:07and they don't just want one room.
17:08They can sign up
17:09to get the entire third floor
17:11with the closable door here.
17:13And in normal times,
17:14members can still use
17:16their rooms as a vacation spot.
17:18Most of them
17:19prefer to stay anonymous.
17:21I will be honest with you.
17:23Most of our membership
17:24tend to be more conservative,
17:26more libertarians.
17:26We do have some people
17:27who are liberal Democrats.
17:29Drew says since 2015,
17:31thousands have signed up
17:33at his eight camps
17:34across the U.S.,
17:35with membership requests
17:37jumping tenfold
17:38when COVID hit.
17:39And demand keeps climbing.
17:42There's concern that
17:43you could have a recession
17:44where a lot of the people
17:45who are unemployed
17:47don't take it well,
17:48start getting violent.
17:50And there's still a lot of concern
17:51about civil war in the U.S.
17:53You know,
17:53the Trump lovers
17:54versus Trump haters.
17:55That's why he's adding
17:56more cabins
17:57right up to the camp's border.
18:00Bad guys are out there.
18:01It's good guy land in here.
18:04Back underground in Colorado,
18:07Nick says spaces like these
18:09are only going to get
18:10more popular,
18:11as surveys show
18:13that 63% of Americans
18:15believe a world war
18:16will break out
18:18in the next four years.
18:19This is not simulation.
18:20This is real life right now.
18:22So we are at a very
18:24precarious point in history.
18:27music
18:27.
18:27.
18:27.
18:27.
18:27.
18:27.
18:27.
18:33.
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