Area 51
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📍 Place
Contents 7
| Type | Place |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Groom Lake, Dreamland |
| On the Timeline | 23 events, 1966–2023 |
Area 51 is a highly classified U.S. Air Force facility in southern Nevada, about 134 km (83 miles) north-northwest of Las Vegas, within the Nevada Test and Training Range. Officially called Homey Airport and often known as Groom Lake after the salt flat beside it, it has been used since 1955 to develop and test secret aircraft. Its secrecy made it the most famous location in UFO lore, especially after 1989 claims that alien spacecraft were studied nearby.[1]
Origins: the U-2
In April 1955 the CIA set up a test site at Groom Lake for Project AQUATONE, the development of Lockheed's U-2 high-altitude spy plane. Project director Richard Bissell wanted a site as secret as the program itself, and Lockheed designer Kelly Johnson's team saw the dry lakebed as a natural runway. The site was nicknamed "Paradise Ranch"; the first U-2 arrived on 24 July 1955, and Lockheed staff flew in from Burbank on Mondays and home on Fridays.[1][2]
Later programs
Area 51 hosted many of the most important U.S. secret aircraft programs: - OXCART (A-12): the CIA's Mach 3 spy plane, forerunner of the SR-71; the program began in 1959 and the first A-12 flew there on 26 April 1962.[1][2] - D-21 Tagboard: a high-speed reconnaissance drone launched from a modified A-12 and later from B-52s, cancelled in 1971.[1] - HAVE DOUGHNUT and related projects: tests of captured Soviet-designed fighters, including an Iraqi MiG-21 flown to Israel by a defector in 1966; from 1977 the CONSTANT PEG program used such aircraft to train U.S. pilots.[1] - Stealth aircraft: the Have Blue stealth prototype first flew there in December 1977, followed by the F-117 Nighthawk in 1981 and Northrop's Tacit Blue in 1982, which influenced the B-2 bomber.[1]
Control passed from the CIA to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in 1979. Workers travel to the base on unmarked "Janet" airline flights, mainly from Las Vegas.[1]
Secrecy and legal battles
In 1994 five civilian contractors and the widows of two others sued the Air Force and the Environmental Protection Agency, saying they had been harmed by the open burning of hazardous waste at the site. The government invoked state secrets, and in 1995 President Bill Clinton issued a determination exempting the site from environmental disclosure laws, a determination renewed every year since. The case, argued by lawyer Jonathan Turley, was dismissed, and appeals failed.[1]
The Air Force acknowledged the site's existence in 1998. On 25 June 2013 the CIA released an official history of the U-2 and OXCART programs that described activities at Area 51, following a 2005 Freedom of Information Act request by Jeffrey Richelson of the National Security Archive. News reports widely described this as the first official acknowledgment of the site.[1][3][4] The perimeter is marked by warning signs, sensors and patrols by guards in unmarked vehicles, nicknamed "camo dudes".[1]
UFO connection
U-2 flights at more than 60,000 feet, and later the A-12, produced many UFO reports in the 1950s and 1960s, and Project Blue Book staff checked flight records to explain sightings; former OXCART personnel have said their aircraft likely caused many reports.[1][5] The link with aliens became popular in the late 1980s: a 1988 television special, UFO Cover-Up? Live, connected the area to aliens, and in 1989 Bob Lazar claimed he had worked on alien craft at a nearby site called S-4. Investigators found no evidence for Lazar's claims, and Area 51 veterans who spoke publicly in 2010 said they had seen no aliens.[1][5] The nearby Nevada State Route 375 was named the "Extraterrestrial Highway", attracting tourists to the town of Rachel.[1]
Storm Area 51
In 2019 a joke Facebook event called on people to "storm Area 51" on 20 September; more than two million people said they would attend. In the event, festivals called AlienStock and Storm Area 51 Basecamp drew a few thousand people, more than 150 went to the gates, and a handful were arrested.[1][6]
On the UAP Timeline
- Cedar Breaks radar site crash claim (1966) — A radar technician reportedly saw a disc crash at a Utah radar site linked to Area 51.
- Groom Range land withdrawal (1984) (7 August 1984) — The Air Force admits it restricted public access to land near Area 51 without legal authority.
- Bob Lazar goes public (15 May 1989) — Bob Lazar goes public, claiming he worked on alien craft at S-4 near Area 51.
- Jim Goodall and Groom Lake black programs (1990) — Writer James Goodall says at least eight secret programs fly from Groom Lake.
- NRO Blue Fire document (28 July 1991) — An alleged NRO document warns of UFO-group protests near Area 51.
- Henry Diamond letter to John Gibbons (1995) (1 November 1995) — A letter to the White House science adviser discusses Laurance Rockefeller's UAP efforts.
- CSETI site list for Congress (1996) (30 August 1996) — Greer's CSETI allegedly briefs Congress with a list of sites tied to UAP.
- Boyd Bushman magnetic beam patent (17 April 1997) — Lockheed scientist Boyd Bushman patents a magnetic device.
- Edgar Fouché and the TR-3B (1998) — An Air Force sergeant claims a secret facility lies beneath Groom Lake.
- David Adair's Area 51 engine claim (1999) — Engineer David Adair says he saw a strange craft at Groom Lake.
- Alexander's A-12 explanation for Holloman (11 May 2002) — Col. John Alexander says the Holloman landing story covered up a failed spy-plane test.
- EG&G Special Projects manager meeting (2005) (5 December 2005) — A former Nevada Test Site manager tells Vallée, Puthoff and Davis about secret work.
- Inman recording in Dreamland (7 July 2007) — In a recorded call, Adm. Bobby Ray Inman names a CIA official as the best person to ask about UAP.
- Dan Burisch and J-Rod (2008) — Dan Burisch claims he studied an extraterrestrial being at the S-4 facility.
- Project Grudge data and the artifact file (23 January 2009) — A BAASS team member is said to be retrieving old Project Grudge data from Area 51.
- Bill Uhouse (1 November 2013) — A retired Marine captain says he tested exotic aircraft and worked on alien technology.
- Boeing engineer's LeMay story (1 November 2013) — An anonymous former Boeing engineer claims Gen. Curtis LeMay told him of a UAP crash.
- Boyd Bushman's final interview (August 2014) — Lockheed scientist Boyd Bushman says before his death that he worked on UAP technology.
- Area 6 (5 March 2016) — The nuclear security agency publicly describes Area 6 activities in Nevada for the first time.
- Sekret Machines (5 April 2016) — DeLonge publishes the novel Sekret Machines, which he says advisers helped shape.
- Area 29 and Omega operations claim (30 May 2018) — A remote viewer claims targets were linked to 'Omega' operations involving advanced propulsion.
- Doty's five Area 51 projects claim (13 June 2022) — Richard Doty claims five UAP-related projects at Area 51.
- Alfred O'Donnell's Area 51 saucer story (28 February 2023) — George Knapp says a former Area 51 contractor manager told him of a recovered saucer.
References
- Area 51 — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- G. Pedlow and D. Welzenbach, The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance: The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954–1974 — National Security Archive · www2.gwu.edu · archived copy
- "Government officially acknowledges existence of Area 51, but not the UFOs", The Washington Post (2013) · washingtonpost.com · archived copy
- "Area 51 'declassified' in U-2 spy plane history", BBC News (16 Aug 2013) · bbc.co.uk · archived copy
- "Area 51 vets break silence: Sorry, but no space aliens or UFOs", The Seattle Times (27 Mar 2010) · seattletimes.com · archived copy
- "Half a million people signed up to storm Area 51. What happens if they actually show up?", The Washington Post (2019) · washingtonpost.com · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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