Area 51
Area 51 is a military installation and a highly classified remote detachment of Nellis Air Force Base, located in the southern portion of Nevada, 83 miles north-northwest of Las Vegas. It was built in 1955 as part of the Nevada Test and Training Range complex, initially to serve as a testing site for the U-2 Spy Plane.0 The name "Area 51" seems to come from the designation the base had on Atomic Energy Commission maps, with this name sticking in the mind of the public but mostly unused by the military.1 The surrounding area is a popular tourist destination, including the small town of Rachel on the "Extraterrestrial Highway".
Homey Airport near Rachel, Nevada as seen from space
This article is about the U.S. Air Force facility in Nevada. For other uses, see Area 51 (disambiguation).
"Groom Lake" redirects here. For other uses, see Groom Lake (disambiguation).
Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport (ICAO: KXTA, FAA LID: XTA)[1] or Groom Lake (after the salt flat next to its airfield). Details of its operations are not made public, but the USAF says that it is an open training range,[2] and it is commonly thought to support the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems.[3][2] The USAF and CIA acquired the site in 1955, primarily for flight testing the Lockheed U-2 aircraft.[4]
The intense secrecy surrounding the base has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component of unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore.[5][6] It has never been declared a secret base, but all research and occurrences in Area 51 are Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI).[7] The CIA publicly acknowledged the base's existence on 25 June 2013, following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in 2005 and declassified documents detailing its history and purpose.[8]
Area 51 is located in the southern portion of Nevada, 83 miles (134 km) north-northwest of Las Vegas. The surrounding area is a popular tourist destination, including the small town of Rachel on the "Extraterrestrial Highway".