B2-Namous, Military testing facility in Sahara Desert, Algeria.
B2-Namous is a military testing site deep in the Algerian Sahara, far from any town, with several buildings, an airstrip, and outdoor areas used for equipment trials. The site sits in a flat, dry desert landscape and is now under Algerian military control.
France set up the facility in the 1930s as a secret research and testing site in the Sahara, and continued using it after Algerian independence through bilateral agreements. These arrangements came to an end only in the late 1970s.
The base represents a complex chapter in French-Algerian relations, showing how military ties persisted between the two nations after colonialism ended. It served as a place where technological and strategic questions were addressed that mattered to both countries.
The site is in a remote part of the Sahara and is completely off limits to the public, as it remains under strict military control. No approach is possible, and all access routes are monitored.
To conceal what was really happening at the site, the French government used a civilian company called Sodeteg to run day-to-day operations, making the activity appear to be ordinary commercial work. This arrangement allowed sensitive testing to continue without drawing public attention.
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