Date: 201604
Local time of day: 1201-1800
Location: ZLA.ARTCC, CA
Light: Daylight
Aircraft: UAV - Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle
Operator: Military
Operating under: Part 91
Flight plan: IFR
Flight phase: Cruise
Airspace: Class A ZLA
ATC / advisory: Center ZLA
Reporter organization: Government
Reporter function: Enroute
Reporter qualification: Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Human factors: Distraction; Workload; Troubleshooting; Situational Awareness; Confusion; Communication Breakdown
Second reporter function: Enroute
Anomaly: ATC Issue All Types; Airspace Violation All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Detector: Person Air Traffic Control
When detected: In-flight
Result: Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification
Contributing factors: Human Factors; Procedure
Primary problem: Procedure

Narrative: I was handed paperwork from my supervisor while on position. The paperwork provided a brief description of what to expect from a flight that was to fly through my airspace (Aircraft X). The paperwork said Aircraft X would orbit in NTTR for 2+00 hrs. When the aircraft checked on; he asked to proceed to KL45M and hold for two hours. I said proceed as requested because I thought that was a part of the pre-coordinated route that had been established. Once I realized he was turning towards the restricted airspace I called and asked Nellis if Aircraft X could in fact come in and hold as he requested. They said unable and he had to stay out of the airspace. From that point; I got busy at the sector and was trying to get answers from management as to what I needed to do with this aircraft since he was not allowed into the restricted airspace like we had planned. I put Aircraft X on a heading to stall and try to find answers. When I tried to issue him holding instructions he informed me that he is unable to accept 'FAA Holding instructions' and was just requesting a 'delay.' I have no idea what issuing a 'delay' does and how I can possibly ensure separation or ensure I know what the aircraft is doing if I simply tell him to delay as requested. I was then handed paperwork on an area of airspace and instructed to ask the Aircraft X pilot if he was familiar with 'the ops area northeast of LAS.' The aircraft was not familiar. The whole thing was a cluster and I was busy with other airplanes and normal complexity of an already busy sector. I felt like my entire area had no idea how to handle the situation; including the MOS (Military Operations Specialist) who had been called down to help me or try to provide answers. Aircraft X ended up just flying in circles in my sector with no real 'holding' instructions established because he couldn't accept them. There was no incident but it was a safety issue because the level of distraction that this one operation caused me put my sector in an unsafe situation.These drone operations need to be more clearly defined and the pilots need to be made aware of the requirements. They can't just expect to get to hold and not be able to accept holding instructions. I'm not sure what went wrong; because I'm not the MOS and not familiar enough with the drone operations to recommend a good solution. I just want to make ATSAP aware of the distraction this caused myself while working a busy sector; and the distraction it caused my entire area.


Second narrative: [Report narrative contained no additional information.]


Synopsis: ZLA controllers reported a UAV that could not accept holding instructions and was not allowed in restricted airspace. One Controller was confused and had busy airspace. The MOS did not have any special instructions to help and the UAV made circles until a resolution was found.