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. Darwin Morgan, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the low-key Area 6 facilities have been used by the Defense and Homeland Security departments. 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. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 
 
 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,” reads the report Energy Department contractor Bechtel SAIC prepared in 2008 for the Yucca Mountain repository license application. 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. The program’s activities include research and development of sensors for detecting explosive materials, deadly gases and chemicals, and radioactive sources that could be used in “dirty bombs.” 
 
 Biological weapon sources aren’t allowed at the security site, according to its environmental impact statement. As seen from above on Google Earth, the complex is dominated by the clamshell-door hangar and four smaller outbuildings connected by what appear to be covered walkways.
– Twelve miles northeast of Area 51 lies Area 6—a site that might be as mysterious as its more famous neighbor. Never heard of it? That's not surprising. Government officials have long kept mum about Area 6, part of Nevada's national security site, which is home to a mile-long, $9.6 million airstrip and several buildings, including "a large hangar with unusual clamshell doors," the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. A 2008 Energy Department report says the site—see it here via Google Earth—is used "to construct, operate, and test a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles" for "airframe modifications, sensor operation, and onboard computer development." A rep for the National Nuclear Security Administration says simply that the runway is used by the Defense and Homeland Security departments. "They come here to test their own sensors," he says. Because the location has controlled airspace, "we do a wide variety of work for others … supporting people with sensor development activities," he adds. "In other words, it's a drone proving ground," reports Popular Mechanics. One imagery analyst says the hangar complex could house 15 MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drones. John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org agrees the runway is just the right size for Reaper or Predator drones. Its location also makes sense. The desert terrain mimics the "boondocks" of Libya, home to ISIS and al-Qaeda. "Trying to develop targeting signatures in this type of mountainous desert terrain, that's got to be a really high priority," he says. "I can't think about a better place to do it where you wouldn't have civilians stumbling on what you're doing." (The US didn't admit the existence of Area 51 until a few years ago.)