Nevada: Area 6 R&D Disclosure
NNSA spokesman Darwin Morgan publicly revealed Area 6 operations at Nevada National Security Site, involving classified sensor and UAV testing for military branches and agencies. This marked the first official disclosure of the site's secretive activities.
Background
Official Disclosure
On March 5, 2016, Darwin Morgan, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), publicly gave details for the first time about activity in Area 6 of the Nevada National Security Site. He described highly classified research and development work there, mainly tests of sensors and of unmanned aerial vehicles for partners such as the US Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, DTRA, and DARPA.
Historical Context
Until then Area 6 had been mentioned only in a lengthy safety report on the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project, where it was described as an air operations facility. That report ran to 7,500 pages and dated from earlier years. Area 6 lies in Yucca Flat, about 19 kilometres northeast of Area 51, with an asphalt runway, hangars, and controlled airspace.
Significance
The disclosure shed light on a highly secret test site for drone sensors and UAVs used by defence and security agencies. Experts speculate about capacity for up to 15 MQ-9 Reaper drones. The revelation came in an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and fed speculation about military technology. No UAP observations were reported, but the site is relevant to military airspace.