History Main / YeOldeNuclearSilo

->'''Major Quantrell''': You know, we heard you and your people set up camp here, found ways to get the old place runnin'.\\
'''Markus''': Who's "we"?\\
'''Major Quantrell''': I said if we were smart about it, we'd just move in, take over. I mean, where else you gonna find a base like this, fully operational, right off the rack, right? But they didn't listen, not even when you got organized. Said you weren't worth their trouble. Thanks for proving my point. Now maybe they'll listen.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* One of the ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' movies has Ken run into a monastery built over a massive stockpile of nuclear weapons.
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* The Morlocks from ''ComicBook/XMen'' live in tunnels under New York that were originally built as fallout shelters.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' games live and breathe this trope. ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' has at least three literal missile silos. In the backstory of ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'''s ''Lonesome Road'' DLC, the Courier destroyed the Divide by delivering an Old World package unknowingly containing detonation codes, causing the dormant missiles to explode in their silos.

Every so often in ScienceFiction that takes place in the near, or at least, not-so-distant future, there will be [[LaResistance rebels]], and all rebels need a suitable hideout. Maybe there's an abandoned warehouse or an empty cave, but that's only for rebels who don't have it in them to be a real rebel army.

* The Morlocks from the ''Comicbook/XMen'' live in tunnels under New York that were originally built as fallout shelters.

* ''Film/DayOfTheDead1985'' had most of the zombie research take place in an old nuclear bunker. Oddly enough, the scientists who ran the place kept the first level of the bunker open and in disrepair and allowed people to just wander in and out as they pleased, as a way of keeping the labs a secret.
* ''Film/NoTimeToDie'': [[BigBad Lyutsifer Safin]]'s base on what appears to be one of the Kuril islands is a former Soviet military facility. The submarine pen dates back to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII but the missile launching doors scream UsefulNotes/ColdWar; in fact, it's a plot point because when the Royal Navy launch a missile strike, Bond has to ensure the blast doors are open to ensure the base will be destroyed.

* The Torturer's Guild headquarters in Creator/GeneWolfe's ''[[Literature/BookOfTheNewSun The Shadow of the Torturer]]'' apparently consists of the disused shells of huge, ancient starships. The torturers sleep in cabins, with portholes, and a throwaway line mentions that the ship's original AI is still functioning, though extremely deranged.
* Played very straight in the ''[[Franchise/BattletechExpandedUniverse [=MechWarrior=]]]'' novel ''Ghost of Winter''; the eventual ragged band of resistance fighters against the pirates who have taken over their planet (an ice world with only one major settlement) take shelter in an abandoned secret Clan depot that conveniently included a Star of 'Mechs. (Ironically, rumors of just that little 'treasure cache' were what ''drew'' the pirates to their world in the first place.)
* Ardneh is revealed to be this at the end of ''Empire of the East''.
* ''Literature/PrinceRoger'': [[CoolOldGuy Thomas "Tomcat" Catrone]] got one of these as part of the bargain when he bought a plot of land in central Asia to retire and start a horse ranch on. Since his land already had this solid building with plenty of room, he's turned it into a nice, well-appointed home.

* Late in ''{{Literature/Shadowboy}}'', the Community Fund acquires the last surviving launch facility from the decommissioned Gruefield Missile base to convert into a base for the team.
* The story "Eleven Hours Out" in the Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse anthology ''Tales Of The Dominion War'' showed that Starfleet kept a secure bunker underneath Starfleet Headquarters that duplicated all of the functions of Starfleet Command. Picard, Troi, and a team of newly-minted Ensigns use it to help coordinate Earth's defense after the primary facility on the surface is destroyed by the Breen ambush from [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E20TheChangingFaceOfEvil "The Changing Face of Evil"]].
* One of ''The Survivalist'' novels by Jerry Ahern involves the title character searching for a nuclear missile silo that didn't launch during World War 3, so they can use it as a bargaining chip against the [[InvadedStatesOfAmerica Soviets who have occupied the United States]]. Unfortunately the US officer who brought him this assignment is secretly a member of TheKlan with his own agenda.
* In ''Literature/SewerGasAndElectric'', Philo Dufresne's eco-terrorist crew makes its East Coast base of operations out of a secret Nazi submarine base they'd found long-abandoned. Subverted in that it's not a ''real'' Nazi base, but a mock-up created in the '40s by a rich weirdo who'd despised the Roosevelt administration and had spent too many nights drinking with his CargoCult-believing Polynesian head servant.

* In ''Series/{{Jeremiah}}'', the titular character was based in an underground military facility, from which he ventured out into the post-apocalyptic world.
** This was Cheyenne Mountain/[=NORAD=] again, although they rarely used the name. It seems a pretty popular choice.
* ''Series/{{Nikita}}'': Division was based in a decommissioned nuclear silo which, like Division itself, didn't officially exist.
* ''Series/{{Silo}}'': Exactly what the title says; although the silo here was built from the beginning as an UndergroundCity to survive an apocalypse, rather than being repurposed.

* When your group of heisters are commissioned to stop a doomsday in [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV Grand Theft Auto: Online]], what else could be your base of operations but an abandoned IAA Facility! While it doesn't have nukes, the KillSat it houses probably covers your needs.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series:

** The White Forest base from ''Episode 2'', which serves as a replacement for Black Mesa East, fits the trope better: It is located in an actual nuclear missile silo, again hosting a rocket that is used to launch a satellite into space to seal a dimensional rift. [[spoiler:This time it actually works]].
* The second level in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'' takes place in an old missile silo that serves as the makeshift base for humanity's forces in East Africa. At one point one of the soldiers actually remarks on its very 21st-century style, complete with ancient hydraulic doors.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' games live and breathe this trope. ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' has at least three literal missile silos. In the backstory of ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'''s ''Lonesome Road'' DLC, the Courier destroyed the Divide by delivering an Old World package unknowingly containing detonation codes, causing the dormant missiles to explode in their silos.

* A level in ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' takes place entirely in and around a missile silo -- nuke still included.
* ''VideoGame/TargetTerror'' has a nuclear silo level.
* In ''VideoGame/StarControl 2'', the Earth ships rely on digging up leftover nuclear warheads from such silos.
* The last act of ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' takes place in and near a Russian missile silo from which the Ultranationalists are launching a nuclear attack against the US in revenge for Zakhaev's son's death.
* ''VideoGame/TheJourneymanProject'' uses this trope a few times as well.
** In the first game, at NORAD VI, you are required to disarm 10 different worldwide missile silos, using nothing but a trackball and a button.
** The second game, Buried in Time, reveals an abandoned silo converted into the antagonist's hideout, complete with futuristic computers and machinery everywhere.
* Turns out the government in ''VideoGame/TheHouseOfTheDeadOverkill'' were trying to develop a serum to create SuperSoldiers, only it went horribly wrong! The government covered it up and the bunker was forgotten. As you can probably predict it was found by the villain who used the serum to create the [[NotUsingTheZedWord mutants]] you fight in the game.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* You too can own one of these...
** http://www.silohome.com/
** http://www.missilebases.com/
[[/folder]]

Note that this trope extends to cover pretty much any other type of small secret underground military installations. If the lair is more expansive, it's an ElaborateUndergroundBase. If it's taken over by civilians, it may become an UndergroundCity. The trope does NOT apply to any installation that is still under the control of the military that built it; in such situations, it's just a normal nuclear silo.

* ''Film/DayOfTheDead1985'' had most of the zombie research take place in an old nuclear bunker. Oddly enough, the scientists who ran the place kept the first level of the bunker open and in disrepair, and allowed people to just wander in and out as they pleased, as a way of keeping the labs a secret.
* ''Film/NoTimeToDie'': [[BigBad Lyutsifer Safin]]'s base on what appears to be one of the Kuril islands is a former Soviet military facility. The submarine pen dates back to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII but the missile launching doors scream UsefulNotes/ColdWar; in fact it's a plot point because when the Royal Navy launch a missile strike, Bond has to ensure the blast doors are open to ensure the base will be destroyed.

* Late in ''{{Literature/Shadowboy}}'', the Community Fund acquires the last surviving launch facility from the decomissioned Gruefield Missile base to convert into a base for the team.
* The story "Eleven Hours Out" in the Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse anthology ''Tales Of The Dominion War'' showed that Starfleet kept a secure bunker underneath Starfleet Headquarters that duplicated all of the functions of Starfleet Command. Picard, Troi and a team of newly-minted Ensigns use it to help coordinate Earth's defense after the primary facility on the surface is destroyed by the Breen ambush from [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E20TheChangingFaceOfEvil "The Changing Face of Evil"]].

* When your group of heisters are commissioned to stop a doomsday in [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV Grand Theft Auto: Online]], what else could be your base of operations but an abondoned IAA Facility! While it doesn't have nukes, the KillSat it houses probably covers your needs.

** At least part of the Black Mesa Research Facility in ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' is located inside the old facilities of an underground missile research center. Though actually a test room for rocket engines, the room with the tentacle aliens is practically a missile silo. Later there's an actual missile silo that holds a modified rocket that is used to launch a satellite into space, that was supposed to be used in a plan to seal the dimensional rift.

* The Autobots of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' are based in a nuclear silo. They have the permission of the government, and it's in the middle of nowhere, hidden underground, fortified and big enough to comfortably hold things on a Cybertronian scale, so it's an ideal base for them.

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* ''Film/NoTimeToDie'': [[BigBad Lyutsifer Safin]]'s base on what appears to be one of the Kuril islands is a former Soviet military facility. The submarine pen dates back to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII but the missile launching doors scream UsefulNotes/ColdWar.

* The final scenes of ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' take place in a nuclear shelter for {=VIPs=] dating back to at least TheSeventies.

* The final scenes of ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' take place in one of these.

** ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has the Black Mesa East rebel headquarter. Though apparently not an actual missile silo, it appears to be a hydroelectric dam, it has all the other features of such a place.

Note that this trope extends to cover pretty much any other type of small secret underground military installations. If the lair is more expansive, it's an ElaborateUndergroundBase. If it's taken over by civilians, it may become an UndergroundCity.

* In ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' the military has hidden the titular gate in an old UsefulNotes/ColdWar-era underground facility. ''Series/StargateSG1'', however, moved the gate to the US Air Force's Cheyenne Mountain facility, home of NORAD. (To this day there is a sign over a door at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station reading "Stargate Command." It leads to a broom closet.)
** To be more specific, in the movie it's a CaptainErsatz of Cheyenne Mountain. In the series, it's the real thing.

* The Autobots of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' are based in a nuclear silo. They have the permission of the government, and it's in the middle of nowhere,hidden underground, fortified and big enough to comfortably hold things on a Cybertronian scale, so it's an ideal base for them.

Every so often in ScienceFiction that takes place in the Near Future or at least the not so distant future, there will be [[LaResistance rebels]], and all rebels need a suitable hideout. Maybe there's an abandoned warehouse or an empty cave, but that's only for rebels who don't have it in them to be a real rebel army.

You need Ye Olde Nuclear Silo. Originally created in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar or in preparation for WorldWarIII, nuclear silos provide everything a real rebel army needs: It's a miniature military base removed from larger settlements and hidden from most observers in the sky, has all the pipes and cables for the industrial feeling, and those gigantic, [[SlowDoors slow-moving doors!]] It usually comes conveniently with fully functioning computer equipment since it was already designed to survive armageddon, and it also provides that cozy damp cave atmosphere. If you're really lucky, it may even come with [[EmptyQuiver a functional missile and warhead]].

** ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has the Black Mesa East rebel headquarter. Though apparently not an actual missile silo, it has all the other features of such a place.

* A level in ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' takes place entirely in and around a missile silo � nuke still included.

** Black Mesa Research Facility in ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' is located inside the old facilities of an underground missile research center. Though actually a test room for rocket engines, the room with the tentacle aliens is practically a missile silo. Later there's an actual missile silo that holds a modified rocket that is used to launch a satellite into space, that was supposed to be used in a plan to seal the dimensional rift.
*** Actually, Black Mesa is basically divided in two parts: the new, spick-and-span office part, with the modern train system; and the old, unused (or barely used) old part, with the missile silo and the old rail system, with a lot of wooden barricades and boarded-up doors.

** The White Forest base from ''Episode 2'', which serves as a replacement for Black Mesa East, fits the trope better: It is located in an actual nuclear missile silo, again hosting a rocket that is used to launch a satellite into space to seal a dimensional rift. This time it actually works.

You need Ye Olde Nuclear Silo. Originally created in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar or in preparation for WorldWarIII, nuclear silos provide everything a real rebel army needs: It's a miniature military base removed from larger settlements and hidden from most observers in the sky, has all the pipes and cables for the industrial feeling, and those gigantic, slow-moving doors! It usually comes conveniently with fully functioning computer equipment since it was already designed to survive armageddon, and it also provides that cozy damp cave atmosphere. If you're really lucky, it may even come with [[EmptyQuiver a functional missile and warhead]].