The Las Vegas Review-Journal has a scoop on an unusual new government facility in the middle of the Nevada desert. Eighty miles northwest of Las Vegas, and just south of a landscape pockmarked by nuclear weapons explosions, is Area 6, a mysterious airfield with plenty of hangars but no visible airplanes.
Located on land controlled by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Area 6 is also not far from the infamous Area 51. A NNSA spokesman told the Review-Journal—apparently after months of "fending off questions" regarding the site—that Area 6 is a place government agencies use to test the sensors onboard unmanned aerial vehicles. In other words, it's a drone proving ground.
According to a document filed by the giant multinational engineering corporation Bechtel, Area 6 is used to "construct, operate, and test a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles. Tests include, but are not limited to, airframe modifications, sensor operation, and onboard computer development. A small, manned chase plane is used to track the unmanned aerial vehicles."
The site is allegedly used to test sensors designed to detect nuclear radiation from both nuclear weapons and dirty bombs, as well as chemical weapons. An analyst from Globalsecurity.org told the paper that the Area 6 potentially could be used to test surveillance equipment, especially systems bound for desert environments such as Libya.
Here's Area 6 in Google Earth. While you're at it, scroll north to see the craters of the Nevada Test Site, which was used for both atmospheric and underground nuclear weapons tests. Farther north and a smidge to the east is Area 51—click here if you have trouble finding it.
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal
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.
