Area 51
U.S Air Force facility in southern Nevada, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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)[2] 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,[3] and it is commonly thought to support the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems.[4][3] The USAF and CIA acquired the site in 1955, primarily for flight testing the Lockheed U-2 aircraft.[5]
Homey Airport | |||||||||||||||||
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Near Rachel, Lincoln County, Nevada in United States | |||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 37°14′0″N 115°48′30″W | ||||||||||||||||
Type | Development and testing facility | ||||||||||||||||
Site information | |||||||||||||||||
Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||||||||||||
Operator | United States Air Force | ||||||||||||||||
Controlled by | Air Force Materiel Command | ||||||||||||||||
Condition | Operational | ||||||||||||||||
Site history | |||||||||||||||||
Built | 1955 (1955) (as Paradise Ranch) | ||||||||||||||||
In use | 1955–present | ||||||||||||||||
Events | Storm Area 51 (2019) | ||||||||||||||||
Garrison information | |||||||||||||||||
Garrison | Air Force Test Center (Detachment 3) | ||||||||||||||||
Airfield information | |||||||||||||||||
Identifiers | ICAO: KXTA, FAA LID: XTA | ||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 4,494 feet (1,370 m) AMSL | ||||||||||||||||
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Sources: Jeppesen[2] |
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.[6][7] It has never been declared a secret base, but all research and occurrences in Area 51 are Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI).[8] 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.[9]
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".