Area 51 of the United States has been a hotbed of suspicion for many years, and some of its so-called "myths" have been kept as tight secrets for so long for a reason. In popular culture, this top secret base is depicted as a place related to aliens and UFOs. Considering its series of security cameras, guard outposts and a large number of warning signs, it is not surprising that many people are curious about what is happening inside the solid wall in zone 51.
However, according to the decrypted documents, the original reason for its existence was that it was used as a test site for experimental aircraft and kept away from prying eyes.
Before it was called the mysterious Area 51, officials called it "Paradise Ranch" to attract workers. A large open area of Lake glum eventually became a place for secret operations. Due to the continuous tension with the Soviet Union at that time, many of these operations were deliberately concealed. In 2013, with the help of the freedom of Information Act, a series of declassified documents were disclosed to the public. These documents not only help reveal many mysteries surrounding area 51, but also show the measures taken by the U.S. government to keep it from the public.
The myth of area 51 has become ordinary
For some of the biggest myths in Area 51, the reason is more land-based in nature: War. In the 1950s, the U.S. government began to develop a stealth aircraft, later known as the Lockheed U-2. According to the NSA decrypted documents, it is not a weightless alien flying saucer, but a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft designed to reach more than 60000 feet to avoid radar detection. One of its missions was to fly over the Soviet Union during the cold war to collect intelligence. According to the declassified information, the activities in zone 51 have increased due to the construction and test flight of spy aircraft.
For the sake of confidentiality, the CIA only refers to the U-2 aircraft as "items", and uses the word "driver" when addressing its pilot. However, its test flights had an unexpected impact - according to the NSA, they led to a significant increase in UFO reports. The spy plane's ability to reach an unusually high altitude alerted commercial airliners, which at that time only flew to an altitude of 20000 feet. In addition, the smooth silver design of the U-2 often reflects sunlight, which makes it look like a luminous alien object to any bystander. Finally, the US air force established the "blue book operation" to collect all reports on UFOs and refute that most of them were quite ordinary.
The truth has come out
According to the decrypted U-2 file, Blue Book investigators can reject most UFO reports through cross comparison with the U-2 flight log. However, investigators were not allowed to disclose this to reporters. Finally, the document concluded that U-2 and its successor A-12 oxcart were responsible for more than half of UFO reports from the 1950s to 1960s. Other activities in zone 51 included testing secretly acquired Soviet MIG aircraft to discover their weaknesses.
Given the nature of these tests, coupled with the ongoing cold war, it is natural for a base focused on developing stealth technology to hide its practices from the public. In fact, it's not just the public, historian Dwayne day told space They also tried to hide their secrets so as not to be discovered by the Soviet satellites that might record the base's activities.
Is there still an unsolved myth in Area 51
If the mystery of area 51 is just a secret spy plane built to sneak into enemy territory, what about the iconic UFO? Although the air force did develop a secret flying saucer aircraft during the cold war, it was not entirely in zone 51 and was not successful. The Avro vertical take-off and landing UFO, known as the "1794 project", aims to achieve a flying altitude of over 100000 feet and a speed of over 2900mph. It was reported that its construction cost was about US $3million, but it was cancelled in 1961 due to instability. Of course, this does not mean that no similar aircraft are lurking in a huge hangar in zone 51.
According to aerospace historian Peter Merlin via Fox News, area 51 is responsible for providing jobs for more than 2000 people. Merlin pointed out that no matter what happens behind the closed border of the base, it cannot be disclosed. This is not because they may contain aliens, but because the national defense system depends on its operation. Whether the public will be informed of any other technological breakthroughs in zone 51 is uncertain. Given that previously hidden files have been made public until now, the public may learn more about cutting-edge hardware at an appropriate time.