01Facilities by Type & Purpose
Facilities by State (Top 10)
02State-by-State Breakdown
The classification label beside each facility (TOP SECRET/SCI, TOP SECRET, SECRET, CLASSIFIED) is our editorial summary of the highest level of classified work publicly reported or reasonably expected at the site. Classification levels apply to information, not to places, and no agency publishes an official secrecy rating for its facilities; how tightly physical access is controlled is a separate question.
NuclearMilitary / TestingIntelligenceCommandResearchData
| Facility Name | State | Type | Reported Classification of Work | Primary Purpose |
|---|
03Detailed Facility Profiles
Nevada - America's Secret Testing Grounds
Area 51 / Groom Lake (Homey Airport)
MILITARY RESEARCH TOP SECRET/SCI
| Location | Lincoln County, 83 miles NNW of Las Vegas |
| Size | Part of the 2.9-million-acre Nevada Test and Training Range |
| Purpose | Development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems. Home to stealth technology development (U-2, A-12 OXCART, F-117). CIA acknowledged existence in 2013 after decades of denial. |
| Notable Features | Heavily guarded perimeter, restricted airspace, motion sensors, Janet Airlines transport, multiple runways for classified aircraft testing |
| Established | 1955 (CIA & USAF acquired site) |
Area 6 - Aerial Operations Facility
TESTING SECRET
| Location | 12 miles northeast of Area 51 |
| Purpose | Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) testing - airframe modifications, sensor operations, onboard computer development. Mile-long runway, multiple large hangars. |
| Notable Features | Large enough to house MQ-9 Reaper drones, restricted airspace, visible on Google Earth but highly classified operations |
Tonopah Test Range (Area 52)
NUCLEAR TESTING TOP SECRET
| Location | 30 miles SE of Tonopah, 160 miles NW of Las Vegas |
| Size | Within Nevada Test and Training Range |
| Purpose | Nuclear weapons testing and evaluation, stealth aircraft testing, DOE/Air Force joint operations. F-117 Nighthawk operational testing base. |
| Notable Features | Extreme isolation for sensitive flight operations, stockpile stewardship missions |
Nevada National Security Site (Nevada Test Site)
NUCLEAR CLASSIFIED
| Size | 1,360 square miles |
| Purpose | Nuclear weapons testing site (1951-1992). Now used for sub-critical testing, experimental research, training, nonproliferation work. |
| History | 928 nuclear tests conducted (100 atmospheric, 828 underground) |
Colorado - NORAD's Mountain Fortress
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
COMMAND CENTER MILITARY TOP SECRET
| Location | El Paso County, 10 miles from Colorado Springs |
| Depth | 2,000 feet inside Cheyenne Mountain (under 9,565 ft mountain) |
| Size | 5.1 acres of underground space, 15 buildings |
| Purpose | Alternate Command Center for NORAD and USNORTHCOM. Aerospace warning, missile defense coordination, air defense operations. |
| Construction | Built 1961-1966, cost $142.4 million ($1.5 billion today). Required 693,000 tons of granite excavation. |
| Notable Features | Blast doors weighing 25 tons each, designed in the early 1960s to survive a nearby nuclear blast (a 30-megaton figure is widely reported, but no official engineering basis or detonation distance has been published), EMP-hardened, self-sufficient (power, water, air systems), 1.5 million gallon water supply, even has Subway restaurant |
| Capacity | Can shelter 800 people from nuclear fallout |
New Mexico - Nuclear Weapons Heartland
Los Alamos National Laboratory
NUCLEAR RESEARCH TOP SECRET
| Location | Los Alamos County |
| Purpose | Nuclear weapons research and development, design of nuclear warheads, stockpile stewardship. Founded in 1943 as the Manhattan Project's weapons laboratory, where the first atomic bombs were designed. |
| Notable Features | One of three NNSA national labs, ongoing weapons design and testing without live detonations |
Sandia National Laboratories
NUCLEAR RESEARCH TOP SECRET
| Locations | Albuquerque NM, Livermore CA, Kauai HI, Tonopah NV |
| Purpose | Non-nuclear components for nuclear weapons, quality assurance, systems engineering for all US nuclear weapons |
| Size | Major research complex with multiple sites |
White Sands Missile Range
TESTING MILITARY CLASSIFIED
| Size | Largest overland instrumented range in Western Hemisphere |
| Purpose | Missile testing, space testing, sensor development. Site of Trinity Test - world's first atomic bomb detonation (July 16, 1945). |
| Trinity Site | Usually closed, but opens once a year for a public open house on the third Saturday in October (October 17 in 2026). Ground Zero of nuclear age. |
Virginia - Intelligence & Continuity Hub
Camp Peary ("The Farm")
CIA TRAINING TOP SECRET
| Location | Near Williamsburg |
| Size | 9,000 acres |
| Purpose | CIA's primary covert training facility. Clandestine service officers learn espionage tradecraft, surveillance, asset recruitment, codes, defensive driving, speedboat handling, resistance to torture. |
| Notable Features | Government has never officially acknowledged the site. Trainees spend months learning 007-style spy skills. Also used by Defense Intelligence Agency. |
Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center
CONTINUITY TOP SECRET
| Location | Near Bluemont, Virginia |
| Purpose | FEMA's premier continuity of government facility. Relocation site for civilian and military officials during national emergencies (nuclear war, cyberattacks, pandemics). |
| Established | 1959 |
| Notable Features | Underground bunker complex, all-hazards planning center |
Warrenton Training Center
SIGNALS INTEL DATA CENTER TOP SECRET
| Location | 4 stations around Warrenton |
| Purpose | CIA/NSA signals intelligence facility, satellite relay, communications training for CIA/NSA/DoD/State Department. Underground continuity bunkers. |
| Established | 1951 as part of Federal Relocation Arc |
| Notable Features | Edward Snowden trained here during CIA service |
North Carolina - Special Operations Testing
Harvey Point Defense Testing Activity
CIA/NAVY EXPLOSIVES TOP SECRET
| Location | Perquimans County |
| Purpose | Paramilitary and counterterrorism training for CIA, Navy SEALs, FBI. Explosive testing, breaching operations, advanced tactics. |
| Established | 1961 (weeks after Bay of Pigs) |
| Notable Features | SEAL Team Six trained here for bin Laden raid using scale mockup of compound. Loud explosions heard for miles, black helicopters, extreme security. |
Utah - Chemical/Biological Defense & NSA Data
Dugway Proving Ground
CHEM/BIO MILITARY CLASSIFIED
| Location | 85 miles SW of Salt Lake City |
| Size | 798,855 acres (larger than Rhode Island's land area) |
| Purpose | Army's premier chemical and biological defense testing site. Testing protective gear, detection systems, decontamination technology. |
| Established | 1942 |
| Notable Features | Houses world's most dangerous biological/chemical agents, called "New Area 51" by some, extreme isolation |
Utah Data Center (NSA)
DATA CENTER NSA TOP SECRET
| Location | Camp Williams, Bluffdale |
| Purpose | Massive NSA data storage and processing facility. Intelligence Community cyber operations, data analysis missions. |
| Notable Features | One of world's largest data centers, hardened infrastructure, classified operations scale |
California - Weapons Development & Research
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS)
NAVAL WEAPONS SECRET
| Location | Kern County |
| Size | Sprawling laboratory with massive restricted airspace (R-2508) |
| Purpose | Advanced weapons development and evaluation. Missile testing, bomb testing, aircraft testing. |
| Notable Features | Decades of classified weapons shaping US arsenal |
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
NUCLEAR RESEARCH TOP SECRET
| Location | Livermore |
| Purpose | Nuclear weapons research and design, one of three NNSA national labs. Advanced modeling, simulation, stockpile stewardship. |
| Notable Features | Key role in maintaining nuclear stockpile without live testing |
Pennsylvania/Maryland Border - Underground Pentagon
Raven Rock Mountain Complex ("Site R")
COMMAND CENTER MILITARY TOP SECRET
| Location | Blue Ridge Summit, under Appalachian Mountains |
| Purpose | Alternate National Military Command Center. Underground Pentagon backup for SecDef, Joint Chiefs, senior DoD leaders during emergencies. |
| Established | 1953 |
| Notable Features | Huge underground city carved into granite, continuity of government operations, activated during 9/11 |
Maryland - Intelligence & Biodefense
Fort Meade (NSA Headquarters)
NSA CYBER TOP SECRET/SCI
| Location | Fort Meade |
| Purpose | National Security Agency headquarters. Also houses US Cyber Command, Defense Courier Service, Defense Information Systems Agency. |
| Notable Features | Center of US signals intelligence, massive electronic surveillance operations, cyber warfare headquarters |
Fort Detrick
BIODEFENSE CLASSIFIED
| Location | Frederick |
| Size | 600+ buildings, 13,000 acres |
| Purpose | Army's biological research headquarters. Toxin/antitoxin research, disease defense, medical material management. |
| History | Former home of CIA's MK-ULTRA mind control program |
Tennessee - Uranium Processing
Y-12 National Security Complex
NUCLEAR TOP SECRET
| Location | Oak Ridge |
| Purpose | Nation's only source of enriched uranium nuclear weapon components. Manufactures all US nuclear weapons secondaries, canned subassemblies, radiation cases. |
| Notable Features | Main storage facility for highly enriched uranium, dismantlement operations, life extension programs for warheads |
Texas - Nuclear Assembly
Pantex Plant
NUCLEAR TOP SECRET
| Location | Amarillo area |
| Purpose | Since 1975, the ONLY facility in United States where nuclear weapons are assembled and disassembled. Also develops, tests, and fabricates high-explosive components. |
| Budget | ~$1 billion annually |
| Notable Features | Final assembly point for all US nuclear warheads |
South Carolina - Tritium Production
Savannah River Site
NUCLEAR TOP SECRET
| Location | Near Aiken |
| Purpose | Tritium production and processing for nuclear weapons. Loads tritium reservoirs, recycles tritium, extracts and enriches tritium gas. Key component for all thermonuclear weapons. |
| Notable Features | Critical to nuclear weapons stockpile maintenance, nonproliferation missions |
Missouri - Non-Nuclear Components
Kansas City National Security Campus
NUCLEAR SECRET
| Location | Kansas City |
| Purpose | Manufactures non-nuclear components for nuclear weapons. Electronics, mechanical parts, materials production for warhead systems. |
| Notable Features | Essential part of nuclear weapons complex, precision manufacturing |
Ohio - Aerospace Research
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
AIR FORCE RESEARCH CLASSIFIED
| Location | Dayton |
| Purpose | Air Force research and development, aerospace systems testing, advanced technology development. |
| Notable Features | Area A and Area B sections, subject of UFO conspiracies (Project Blue Book) |
04Summary Statistics
Reported Classification Level of Work at Profiled Facilities
Key Insights
- Nuclear Weapons Complex: 8 major NNSA sites across 7 states manage entire US nuclear arsenal lifecycle - research, design, component manufacturing, assembly, disassembly, storage
- Nevada Concentration: Highest concentration of classified sites due to remote desert locations ideal for weapons testing and aircraft development
- Underground Facilities: Major hardened bunkers include Cheyenne Mountain (CO), Raven Rock (PA/MD), Mount Weather (VA) - designed to survive nuclear attack
- Intelligence Training: Camp Peary (VA) and Harvey Point (NC) are primary CIA/special operations training facilities
- Testing Ranges: White Sands (NM), China Lake (CA), Dugway (UT), Tonopah (NV) provide isolated areas for weapons development
- Data & Cyber: Fort Meade (MD) NSA headquarters and Utah Data Center represent modern cyber intelligence infrastructure
- Access Restricted: Trespassing on military bases punishable by 6 months imprisonment. Airspace violations can result in lethal force authorization
05Data Sources & Methodology
Information compiled from: CIA declassified documents (FOIA releases on Area 51, U-2 program), National Nuclear Security Administration official facility descriptions, Department of Energy site profiles, Department of Defense public affairs releases, Congressional Research Service reports on Nuclear Security Enterprise, Federation of American Scientists nuclear weapons database, Brennan Center for Justice research, National Archives records, investigative journalism (Annie Jacobsen "Area 51", various news reports), satellite imagery analysis (Google Earth verified locations), academic research on military installations, official NORAD/USNORTHCOM statements, Naval facilities public information.
Classification Levels Explained
Executive Order 13526 sets three classification levels (Top Secret, Secret and Confidential), and they apply to information. SCI is an additional access control on some Top Secret information, and "Classified" and "Restricted" below are general terms, not EO levels. A facility does not have a classification level of its own; the labels on this page describe the most sensitive work publicly reported at each site.
| TOP SECRET/SCI | Top Secret is the highest level; unauthorized disclosure could cause "exceptionally grave damage" to national security. SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information) requires special clearances. |
| SECRET | Unauthorized disclosure could cause "serious damage" to national security. |
| CLASSIFIED | General term for restricted information requiring security clearance. |
| RESTRICTED | Access limited but less stringent than classified levels. |
Legal Restrictions
Under 18 U.S. Code § 1382, trespassing on military installations is punishable by up to 6 months imprisonment and fines. Restricted airspace violations can result in interception by military aircraft and potentially lethal force. Since January 2026, FAA security NOTAM FDC 6/4375 has barred drone flights within 3,000 feet laterally and 1,000 feet vertically of covered Defense, Energy and Homeland Security facilities and mobile assets. Photography of certain facilities is prohibited. Many sites employ lethal force authorization for unauthorized entry beyond warning perimeters.
Public Access
Most facilities are completely closed to public. Exceptions: Trinity Site (White Sands) holds 1 open house per year, on the third Saturday in October. Some facilities like Fort Meade allow limited base access for authorized visitors. Area 51 perimeter is heavily monitored - signs warn "Use of Deadly Force Authorized."
Important Note: This page presents only publicly available, declassified, or openly reported information. Many operational details remain classified. Facility purposes and capabilities described here represent confirmed or widely acknowledged activities, not speculation; the classification labels are our editorial summary, not official designations.
Last Updated: October 2026 | Data reflects publicly available information as of October 19, 2026
