Since becoming a top-secret US military base more than 60 years ago, “Area 51” has become the focus of a series of conspiracy theories, such as aliens or unidentified foreign objects (UFOs).
Over the past decades, “Area 51” – the top secret US air force base – has been embroiled in a series of hypotheses, including that there is “evidence” that aliens exist here.
Many books and TV shows have been created revolving around the above hypothesis. In fact, in 2019, millions of people on the Internet participated in an event calling for a mass visit to “Area 51” to verify whether there are aliens inside this place or not?
Where is “Area 51”?
In the middle of the barren desert 30 miles south of Rachel, in Lincoln County, Nevada, lies a dusty road leading to the front gate of Area 51. It is protected by fences, explosive gates and no trespassing signs with stern warning messages.
At first glance, one would think that the top secret US military base should be more closely guarded. In fact, it is.
Behind that gate, surveillance cameras keep an eye on every angle. On a distant hilltop, a white pickup truck with a tinted windshield keeps an eye on everything below. Locals say the base knows everything that happens, so much so that they can tell when a desert tortoise or wild animal has darted through the fence.
What exactly is going on inside Area 51 is a question that many people have been trying to answer for decades. Because of the US military’s secrecy, there have been many speculations about the area known as “America’s most secretive” and one of the most mysterious places in the world. One of the most popular theories is that there are aliens inside.
With a host of myths surrounding the area, “Area 51” is an active US military base. What makes it a subject of interest is its secrecy, with only a handful of people knowing what actually happens inside the fence.
“There’s not a lot of information about Area 51, which is what keeps people curious about it. And there’s definitely a lot going on inside that area,” said aerospace historian Peter Merlin, who has studied “Area 51” for more than 30 years.
The Origin of the Rumors
The creation of “Area 51” is directly related to the development of the U-2 spy plane. After World War II, the Soviet Union grew in influence, and at the same time, they drew an “iron curtain” around them and the rest of the Eastern bloc. This made intelligence gathering more difficult.
In the early 1950s, the US Navy and Air Force flew low-altitude reconnaissance planes close to the Soviet Union to gather information, but the planes faced the risk of being shot down. In November 1954, former US President Dwight Eisenhower approved a secret plan to develop the high-altitude U-2 reconnaissance aircraft program. One of the first requirements of the project was to find a secret, remote area for training and testing. They discovered an area in the southern Nevada desert called Groom Salt Lake, which had been a US Army firing range.
Area 51 was then designated as a top-secret base. To convince people to come work there, Kelly Johnson, one of the top engineers on the U-2 project, gave it a more appealing name: “Paradise Ranch.”
The U-2 began testing in July 1955 and immediately the US media was filled with reports of many people observing “unidentified flying objects”.
Most of the sightings were made by commercial airline pilots who had never seen an aircraft fly as high as the U-2. Today, commercial aircraft can fly at altitudes of more than 45,000 feet, but back then they flew at altitudes of 10,000 to 20,000 feet. Some military aircraft more than 60 years ago could fly at altitudes of 40,000 feet, and it was believed that no manned aircraft could fly higher than that. So the U-2, with its 60,000-foot range, became a subject of great interest.
Of course, the US Air Force knows that most of the UFO sightings are U-2 tests, but they are not allowed to provide detailed information to the public. Since then, rumors about the mystery inside “Area 51” continue to spread.
It was not until 2013 that the US first acknowledged the existence of “Area 51”.
Although “Area 51” has been identified as a top secret military base, over the past decades, its mystery has given rise to a series of theories about aliens and UFOs.
In 1989, a man named Bob Lazar appeared in the media and claimed that he had witnessed aliens while working at “Area 51”, and also assisted in reverse engineering alien spacecraft.
Many have dismissed the claim as “fiction,” including historian Merlin, who has spent years talking to former engineers and employees who worked at “Area 51.”
However, many people do not think so. In June 2019, a college student in the US opened an event on the Facebook platform, calling on people to rush to “Area 51” to “see aliens” in September of the same year. According to Business Insider, the event description shows that this seems to be just a joke.
But the effect it caused was real, causing a stir on the internet. More than 2 million people registered to “attend” the event and 1.5 million people clicked the “interest” button on the event page.
The incident exploded to the point that the US military had to issue a warning. US Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews stated that the US military “discourages anyone from visiting Area 51, where we train US armed forces. The US Air Force is always ready to protect the United States and its assets.”
Rolling Stone cited US government documents saying that the warning by spokesman McAndrews two years ago was not a joke. Specifically, the US has mobilized federal and state law enforcement forces, the FBI, and the Department of Defense to prepare to protect if a large-scale invasion occurs.
The document shows that US officials are concerned that terrorists could infiltrate the group approaching Area 51 and pose a security threat. In addition, Rolling Stone said that the US government document even listed a “response” plan with potentially lethal measures for those who deliberately entered the area despite being warned in advance.
Most recently, just last week, a man was arrested by Las Vegas, Nevada police after he drove his car through the airport fence, stormed in and threatened to hijack a plane with a bomb. He told police he wanted to hijack the plane and fly it straight to “Area 51” to find aliens.
Top secret mission
After the U-2, the US continued to test a series of top-secret military aircraft at “Area 51”. Over the years, aircraft such as the A-12 stealth bomber, the Bird of Prey attack aircraft, the F-117A and the TACIT BLUE were developed and tested in the Nevada desert. Declassified documents even show that “Area 51” was also involved in a 1970s US project to study MiG aircraft that they secretly obtained from the Soviet Union.
Top secret US aircraft projects such as the A-12, Bird of Prey, F-117A and TACIT BLUE (Photo: Wikipedia).
“They flew MiGs over Area 51 and pitted them against American fighters to improve their tactics. This continues to this day. Now, instead of seeing MiG-17s and MiG-21s, there are MiG-29s and Su-27s in the area,” historian Merlin speculated.
In September 2017, a US Air Force lieutenant colonel died when his plane crashed in Nevada. However, the Pentagon did not identify the type of aircraft involved. Observers speculated that the pilot died while apparently flying a foreign-made aircraft that had been captured by the US.
