Page "Area 51" Paragraph 3

The facility is not a conventional airbase, as frontline operational units are not normally deployed there.

It instead appears to be used for highly classified military / defense Special Access Programs ( SAP ), which are unacknowledged publicly by the government, military personnel, and defense contractors.

Its mission may be to support the development, testing, and training phases for new aircraft weapons systems or research projects.

Once these projects have been approved by the United States Air Force or other agencies such as the CIA, and are ready to be announced to the public, operations of the aircraft are then moved to a normal air force base.