America's pyramid: Photos reveal the Egyptian-esque missile facility used by the U.S. military to detect and launch ICBMs

• The Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex became operational in 1975
• The Complex's high-tech radars were housed in a pyramid-shaped building in rural Nekoma, North Dakota
• The Complex was designed to detect Soviet missiles
• In 1976, just a year after it became operational, the Complex was closed

By JAMES KING

PUBLISHED: 01:06 GMT, 14 April 2014 | UPDATED: 05:07 GMT, 14 April 2014

Anyone traveling through Nekoma, North Dakota - a stone's throw from the Canadian border on the way to the exact middle of nowhere - might be shocked to find an enormous pyramid jutting above the horizon. As well they should be - this is North Dakota, not Egypt.

But this American pyramid was once home to one of the United States military's anti-ballistic missile defense system with the Cold War-era goal of shooting down Soviet missiles before they ever reached their intended targets - and likely killing thousands of Americans.

The Nekoma pyramid is part of a cluster of military facilities once known as the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, named after U.S. Army Air Defense Commanding General Stanley Mickelsen.

FULL STORY: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2603989/Americas-pyramid-Ph...