Western Test Range

Tonopah Test Range

For information on the Tonopah Test Range airfield facilities, see the article Tonopah Test Range Airport.

Tonopah Test Range, also known as Area 52, is a military installation located about 30 miles southeast of Tonopah, Nevada. It is part of the northern fringe of the Nellis Range and is inaccessible to the public. The Tonopah Test Range measures 625 miles² in size. Tonopah Test Range is located about 70 miles northwest of Groom Dry Lake, home of the Area 51 facility. Like the Groom Lake facility, Tonopah is a site of interest to conspiracy theorists, though mostly for its use of experimental and classified aircraft. As such, it is not the focus of alien enthusiasts, unlike its neighbor. It is also used for launching sounding rockets.

Tonopah Test Range includes the Tonopah Test Range Airport. About six miles north of the airfield is a large housing area called Mancamp, which contains dormitories, a library, cafeteria (currently closed), gym, Olympic size indoor pool, two-lane bowling alley, a bar and an ATM.

The range is largely in a valley flanked by the Cactus Range to the west. To the east is the Kawich Range, home of Silverbow, one of the largest mining ghost towns in Nevada. The range holds a sizable wild horse and coyote population, closely monitored by the Bureau of Land Management.

History

It was opened in 1957 as a testing site for United States Department of Energy weapons programs, and for most of its life it was administered by Sandia National Laboratories.

Constant Peg

From 1977-1988 the range hosted a MiG air combat training program code named Constant Peg. The brainchild of Colonel Gail Peck, the program allowed American pilots the opportunity to fly – and to fly against – the fighter aircraft of their Cold War rivals. Constant Peg was formally declassified in November 15, 2006, though it had been discussed by name in different Internet military forums as early as mid-2004. As many as 25 MiG aircraft were involved in the training including MiG-17s, MiG-21s, and MiG-23s.. It is believed that since the end of the Constant Peg program MiG-25s, MiG-29s and SU-27s have also operated from Tonopah for testing and evaluation flights as well.

Approximately 6800 pilots participated in Constant Peg.

Stealth

For full information on F-117 operations, see Tonopah Test Range Airport and F-117 Nighthawk.

F-117's operated from Tonopah in secret from 1982 through 1989 while the program was still classified. During this period Mancamp was connected to the airfield by shuttle bus service, while the airfield in turn was connected to Nellis Air Force Base by between five to twenty Key Air Boeing 727 flights per day from Nellis to Tonopah. The airfield was also serviced by one or two JANET Boeing 737 flights daily, which were presumably from McCarran International Airport and served Sandia National Laboratories employees. In early 1991, Key Air lost the contract and the service was taken over by American Trans Air Boeing 727 aircraft.