17 Mysterious Truths About Area 51
Area 51 might be the most famous secret location in the world. Everyone has heard the stories about aliens, UFOs, and government cover-ups, but the real truth about this Nevada desert facility is actually stranger and more fascinating than most science fiction stories.
For decades, the government refused to even admit the place existed, which only made people more curious about what was really happening out there in the middle of nowhere. Here are the actual facts about America’s most classified military installation that will surprise even the biggest conspiracy fans.
The government finally admitted it exists in 2013
For nearly 60 years, the U.S. government acted like Area 51 didn’t exist at all, refusing to confirm or deny its location or purpose. The CIA publicly acknowledged the base’s existence following a FOIA request filed in 2005, with declassified documents concerning the history of the U-2 and A-12 OXCART aerial surveillance programs that were constructed and tested at Area 51.
The official admission came with hundreds of pages of previously classified documents that revealed the real story behind all those UFO sightings. Government officials had been lying to the public for decades, but not about aliens.
It started as a testing ground for the U-2 spy plane
The USAF and U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) acquired the site in 1955, primarily for flight tests of the Lockheed U-2 aircraft. The U-2 was a revolutionary high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft designed to fly over the Soviet Union and take pictures without being detected.
Test flights of that spy plane, and subsequent aircraft, accounted for many of the UFO sightings in the area; the U-2 could reach altitudes much higher than any known aircraft at the time. People who saw these strange objects flying impossibly high had no idea they were looking at America’s most advanced spy technology.
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The first flight happened by accident
On August 1, 1955, during a high-speed-taxi test in the first U-2, Lockheed’s chief test pilot, Tony LeVier, inadvertently became airborne at a remote test site in the desert of western Nevada called the Nevada Test and Training Range at Groom Lake. LeVier was only supposed to test how fast the plane could go on the ground, but the U-2 was so advanced that it practically flew itself.
LeVier, who had conducted the first taxi-test a few days prior, accelerated the U-2 to 70 knots when he suddenly realized he was airborne, leaving him in “utter amazement.” That accidental flight proved the U-2 was ready to start its secret mission of spying on America’s enemies.
It was originally called Paradise Ranch to attract workers
The remote Nevada desert location was hardly a paradise, but CIA recruiters knew they needed an appealing name to convince skilled workers to move there. “Paradise Ranch” was then shortened to the US Department of Energy designation that eventually became known as Area 51.
The ironic name stuck even though most employees quickly discovered that working in the middle of the Nevada desert was about as far from paradise as anyone could imagine. The nickname became part of the facility’s mystique and helped create the legend that surrounds it today.
The airspace above it is completely off-limits
President Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10633 to restrict a rectangle of airspace over the base that year, and the Department of the Interior withdrew a 60-square-mile rectangle of land beneath the airspace from public use in 1958. Today, the so-called “Groom box” includes a 22-by-20 nautical mile rectangle of restricted airspace that’s completely forbidden to civilian and most military aircraft.
Any plane that enters this airspace without permission gets intercepted by fighter jets and escorted away immediately. The restriction is so serious that even airline pilots are warned to stay far away from the area or face severe consequences.
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Armed guards patrol the perimeter constantly
It is located more than 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It is restricted to the public and has armed guards patrolling the perimeter around the clock.
These security personnel, known locally as “camo dudes,” watch every approach to the facility from hidden observation posts scattered throughout the desert. They use advanced surveillance equipment to detect anyone who gets too close and have the authority to arrest trespassers immediately.
The restricted area covers over 90,000 acres
The base itself is fairly small, but the restricted area around it is over 90,000 acres [36,000 hectares] — partly to prevent prying eyes and partly because they need to test classified aircraft. This massive buffer zone ensures that no one can get close enough to see what’s happening at the actual test facilities.
The enormous size also provides plenty of room for aircraft to conduct test flights without being observed from outside the restricted boundary. Most people don’t realize that the famous “Area 51” sign is actually miles away from any buildings or runways.
It’s administered by Edwards Air Force Base in California
Area 51 is an active military installation. It is administered by Edwards Air Force Base in southern California.
Area 51 is not accessible to the public and is under 24-hour surveillance. This administrative arrangement helps maintain the secrecy because all official communications go through Edwards rather than local Nevada military bases.
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It tested Soviet fighter jets during the Cold War
In addition to testing new aircraft technologies, Area 51 was also used to study foreign warplanes that the U.S. government obtained covertly during the Cold War. American pilots flew captured Soviet MiG fighters to understand their capabilities and develop tactics to defeat them in combat.
The most important lesson was that no Navy pilot in the project defeated the MiG-17 in their first fight. The airspace above Groom Lake was closed during these tests.
The SR-71 Blackbird was developed there
Over the years, other well-known aircraft has been tested here, including the Archangel-12, the SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter. The SR-71 became the fastest aircraft ever built and could fly at over three times the speed of sound while taking surveillance photos.
Area 51 has also been used to test the U-2’s successor, the A-12 Oxcart, a high-altitude, Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft designed to avoid Soviet Union air defenses during the Cold War. These aircraft were so advanced that they seemed impossible to anyone who caught a glimpse of them during test flights.
Modern drone technology was born there
Area 51 is where the drones came from — as we were saying way back when, according to Phil Patton, author of “Dreamland: Travels Inside the Secret World of Roswell and Area 51.” The facility became a testing ground for unmanned aircraft technology that would eventually revolutionize military operations around the world.
Many of the surveillance and combat drones used today can trace their development back to secret experiments conducted at Area 51. The remote location provided the perfect environment for testing these new technologies without public knowledge.
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It sits next to a nuclear testing site
Groom Lake abuts the northeast corner of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) at the center of the sprawling Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). The proximity of Groom Lake to the NTS puts it directly in the crosshairs of the invisible enemy.
It is reasonable to assume that radioactive fallout from more than 1,000 nuclear tests over more than four decades has contaminated significant portions of Groom Lake’s environment. This location choice wasn’t accidental – the government wanted to conduct all its most sensitive testing in the same remote area where security was already established.
Workers fly there on unmarked airlines
Employees can’t simply drive to Area 51 because there are no public roads leading to the facility. Instead, workers take unmarked passenger jets from a private terminal in Las Vegas to the classified airstrip at Groom Lake.
These flights, operated by contractors, are often called “Janet Airlines” by aviation enthusiasts who spot the white planes with red stripes. The planes have no airline markings and their flight schedules are completely secret.
The F-117 stealth fighter was tested in complete secrecy
Declassified documents help demonstrate the central role that Area 51 played in the development of programs such as the F-117. The F-117 was so revolutionary with its radar-evading capabilities that it flew for years before the public knew it existed.
Test pilots flew these angular black aircraft only at night to avoid detection by Soviet satellites. The stealth technology developed at Area 51 changed the nature of air warfare and influenced the design of every advanced military aircraft that followed.
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It has its own runway longer than most commercial airports
The main runway at Area 51 is over 12,000 feet long, which is longer than most major commercial airports need for their largest passenger jets. This extra-long runway was necessary because many of the experimental aircraft tested there had unusual landing characteristics or needed extra distance to stop safely.
The facility also has multiple taxiways and aircraft hangars that can accommodate planes of almost any size. The runway and facilities are maintained to the highest standards because test aircraft are often one-of-a-kind prototypes worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Satellite images show constant construction and modification
Commercial satellite images available to the public show that Area 51 is constantly being expanded and modified with new buildings, runways, and facilities. These construction projects suggest that the facility remains very active in developing new aircraft and technologies.
However, the most sensitive buildings are constructed underground or inside existing hangars where satellites can’t see what’s happening. The visible construction is probably just the tip of the iceberg compared to what’s actually being built and tested there.
Most UFO sightings were actually secret aircraft tests
The area was never home to aliens or UFOs, but was instead a super secret site for testing spy planes such as the U-2. When people reported seeing strange objects flying at impossible altitudes or performing incredible maneuvers, they were usually watching test flights of classified aircraft.
The government couldn’t explain these sightings without revealing state secrets, so they let people believe they were seeing extraterrestrial visitors. This cover story actually helped maintain security because it made serious investigators look foolish and discouraged media attention.
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From Cold War secrets to modern mysteries
Area 51 remains as active and secretive today as it was during the height of the Cold War, proving that some government secrets are worth keeping even decades after they were first classified. At least six US spy planes have been developed at the base, and there’s no reason to think the facility has stopped creating revolutionary aircraft technology.
The truth about Area 51 turns out to be more fascinating than any alien conspiracy because it reveals how America developed the most advanced military technology in human history. While we may never know everything that happens behind those guarded fences, the declassified information shows that reality can be stranger than fiction when brilliant engineers are given unlimited budgets and told to build impossible machines.
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