In July of 1947, there was a widespread UFO craze in America. Reports of UFO sightings, or unidentified flying objects, were pouring in from all over the country. The excitement began in late June when a private pilot named Kenneth Arnold claimed he had seen nine shining UFOs near a hill in the vicinity of Seattle. According to Arnold, these UFOs were zipping through the skies at incredible speeds, clocking in at 2,000 kilometers per hour. In just two weeks, people from various parts of America reported their own encounters with flying UFOs. The media was abuzz with discussions about these sightings.
This map illustrates the locations of these UFO sightings across America. The media began linking the UFO phenomena to atomic sites and focused on three specific areas with the highest number of sightings, which were coincidentally near nuclear test sites. Meanwhile, in New Mexico, a man named Mac Brazel found unusual debris on his field. This debris consisted of tin foil, rubber, and a thin wooden beam. Perplexed by what he had discovered, Brazel wondered if this debris might be connected to the ongoing UFO craze. He decided to take the material to the Roswell Sheriff’s office on July 7th.
This act caught the attention of Colonel William Blanchard, who was the commanding officer of the Roswell Army Airfield (RAAF). The following day, RAAF issued a statement, confirming the rumors of “flying disks.” They stated, “The 509th Bomb Group of the 8th Airforce, Roswell Army Airfield was fortunate enough to gain possession of a disk.” The U.S. Army’s announcement seemed to provide proof of UFOs’ existence.
However, the very next day, the U.S. Army officials retracted their stance. They claimed that the debris they received was from a weather balloon. As evidence, they released photographs of Major Marcel with the alleged weather balloon debris. With that, the news surrounding the UFOs died down, and both the media and the public lost interest.
Years later, in the late 1970s, rumors resurfaced regarding an alien craft spotted flying over the New Mexico desert. These rumors suggested that the UFO had crashed after being struck by lightning, resulting in the deaths of the extraterrestrial beings on board. In 1980, Major Marcel authored a book titled ‘The Roswell Incident,’ in which he claimed that the debris he had seen was “not made on this Earth” and appeared to be of extraterrestrial origin.
Since then, the significance of the Roswell Incident continued to grow. New theories emerged, with some individuals asserting that a live alien was discovered at the crash site, and the U.S. Army had kept it hidden at a top-secret facility. Some believed that the alien was still imprisoned in this secret location, and the U.S. Army was engaged in reverse-engineering alien technology and conducting research on extraterrestrial life.
All of these activities were said to be taking place at a top-secret facility, famously known as Area 51. To unravel this mystery, let’s delve into this intriguing tale.
“Since the late 1940s, Americans have been captivated by a mysterious region in Nevada, known as Area 51. But what exactly goes on at Area 51? The Air Force has recently made public an archive of UFO reports and investigations, leading to questions like: Are there any alien remains in Area 51?
Area 51 is a highly secretive U.S. military facility situated in the midst of a desolate desert, miles away from the nearest cities. Access to this facility, along with any attempts to trespass or enter it, is strictly prohibited. Warning signs are prevalent in the area, cautioning against photography and emphasizing that any suspicious activity would be met with deadly force.
Now, you might wonder, what’s inside Area 51? In recent years, it has gained notoriety thanks to an interesting incident. In June 2019, Joe Rogan, a well-known podcaster, invited Bob Lazar, a cult figure with a penchant for UFOs, to discuss his beliefs and experiences regarding UFOs. Lazar claimed to have conducted extensive research on flying saucers and Area 51, asserting that he had been employed as a researcher within Area 51. His purported role was to investigate alien technology, reverse-engineer it, and enhance our modern technology through these discoveries.
Lazar stated, “This project was to back-engineer the alien craft. I went through the hangar door, and inside the hangar door was the disk, the flying saucer that I worked on.” This podcast interview had a significant impact.
Subsequently, a college student named Matty Roberts was inspired by this podcast and wanted to uncover the government’s hidden secrets. He understood that individual efforts to discover the truth might be thwarted and silenced by the government. However, he believed that if a large crowd gathered at Area 51, the government would be unable to prevent them from infiltrating the top-secret facility. Thus, he created a Facebook event named ‘Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All Of Us.’
In this event, Roberts suggested that people assemble at Area 51 at 3 AM on September 20, 2019, to coordinate and attempt to penetrate the clandestine facility. The event was initially intended as a humorous prank and included eccentric elements like the ‘Naruto Run.’ According to the event post, the ‘Naruto Run’ would help participants evade bullets if the military attempted to open fire. This run is inspired by the Japanese manga series ‘Naruto,’ in which the main character runs with a distinctive posture.
Surprisingly, this prank event gained significant traction and drew the attention of more than 2 million people who confirmed their intention to participate in the event. Matty Roberts, realizing that his joke had spiraled into a massive phenomenon, expressed his concerns about the situation. In his statement, he absolved himself of responsibility, explicitly stating that he was not accountable for the actions of the two million individuals who expressed an interest in the event.
However, actually getting to Area 51 was not a straightforward task for those who wanted to attend. Area 51 is located in the heart of a desert, miles away from any significant cities or infrastructure. The area is exceptionally isolated, with only a 250-kilometer-long highway passing through the desert, devoid of any gas stations. The summer mornings in this region can be scorching, with temperatures exceeding 40°C. The only nearby settlement, Rachel, was reported to have a population of just 54 residents in 2019.
The isolation of this area is due to the fact that Area 51 is situated within the Nevada Test and Training Range, the largest government-controlled land in the United States.
This vast area covers more than 12,000 square kilometers. Adjacent to this facility lies another highly restricted military base, the Nevada Test Site, which was historically used for testing nuclear weapons from the 1950s through the 1990s. It is understandable that a site where nuclear weapons were detonated must be kept under strict control for safety and security reasons.
Before delving further into this event, it’s essential to comprehend the history of Area 51, which is intertwined with the context of the Cold War. Area 51 was established during the Cold War, a period marked by intense competition and tension between the United States and the Soviet Union.
At the time, concerns were growing about communist infiltration within unions, the entertainment industry, and even the military and government. Area 51 was established to serve as a secretive testing and development facility for aircraft. During the 1950s, this facility played a pivotal role in testing some of the most critical espionage aircraft in American history. The importance of these military weapons’ development led to the tight secrecy surrounding the facility.
In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States mandated the creation of a classified location to initiate the High-Altitude Reconnaissance Program, a project aimed at developing spy planes capable of countering the Soviet Union’s nuclear capabilities. Two CIA officers were assigned the task of identifying a suitable location to conduct tests and research for the development of spy planes that could prove effective against the Soviet Union’s nuclear arsenal.
According to Annie Jacobsen’s book, ‘Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base,’ this secret facility was discovered in the midst of a desiccated lake bed in Nevada, originally known as Groom Lake. It later became synonymous with Area 51. The site was already designated as a classified area, where the government had been conducting tests related to nuclear weapons.
Area 51 served as a hub for the development of spy aircraft, particularly notable were two aircraft models. The U-2 Spy plane, which possessed a distinctive appearance, became an integral part of American espionage during the Cold War. The absence of satellite technology made it almost impossible for the United States to gather information about the Soviet Union’s activities, especially following their successful testing of an atomic bomb in 1949. As a response, in 1953, President Eisenhower launched a covert CIA program named ‘Project Aquatone,’ designed to construct an aircraft with a $22 million budget that could travel 4,800 kilometers without refueling. This aircraft was equipped to carry a 320-kilogram payload of cameras while flying at an altitude of 21,000 meters. It was engineered to be undetectable on radar and impervious to anti-aircraft missiles.
This initiative gave rise to the U-2 spy plane, a pivotal asset in American espionage history, enabling them to gather critical intelligence on the Soviet Union. However, the triumph was short-lived as a U-2 aircraft was shot down by a missile on May 1, 1960. This incident compromised years of hard-won secrecy for the U.S. intelligence community. The United States was compelled to admit its spying activities. Consequently, the military was pressurized by the government to develop an aircraft that was not susceptible to such downing, capable of greater speed, and even more covert. This marked the birth of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, which remains the fastest aircraft to this day, boasting a top speed of 3,400 kilometers per hour and an operating altitude of 24,000 meters. Its exceptional speed and altitude made it impervious to interception.
Given the critical nature of this top-secret aircraft, maintaining its secrecy was paramount, especially during the ongoing Cold War. This begged the question of how the military could test such an advanced plane while keeping it hidden from the world. The CIA provided an ingenious solution by allowing UFO conspiracy theories to circulate. These unidentified aerial phenomena, as referred to by the U.S. Department of Defense, were neither confirmed nor denied by the CIA. The strange and rapid unidentified objects observed in the sky raised questions about the existence of alien flying saucers, providing a perfect cover for the CIA to carry out its classified program while keeping the public distracted. By fueling these UFO rumors, the CIA allowed people to believe they were encountering alien spacecraft, rather than realizing they were witnessing U.S. military aircraft.
This approach is believed to be the reason behind the promotion of the flying saucer theory in the Roswell Incident, which dominated the media and newspapers for a brief period. However, the CIA was well aware that if the government acknowledged the existence of aliens and their involvement in experiments on extraterrestrial beings, it could result in widespread fear and paranoia among the public.
As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, the resurgence of UFO rumors in the 1970s can be attributed to the testing of the Blackbird SR-71 aircraft during that period.
In 1994, we finally uncovered the factual events surrounding a legendary pilot embarking on the first-ever flight in a legendary aircraft. However, despite the availability of these facts, certain individuals continued to perpetuate conspiracy theories linking Area 51 to extraterrestrial beings. One notable figure in this regard is Bob Lazar. In 1989, he asserted that he had worked within Area 51’s Sector 4 (S-4) and had been engaged in projects related to alien spacecraft on behalf of the government. Nevertheless, contemporary experts with credibility and neutrality have cast doubt on the veracity of his claims.
Now, let’s explore what transpired with the event that attracted two million people. The security personnel responsible for overseeing Area 51 expected only 30,000 attendees out of the two million due to the site’s extreme isolation and the difficulties involved in reaching it. The ‘Storm Area 51’ event gradually transformed into a music festival with an alien theme. Its organizer, Matty Roberts, began branding the event as ‘Alienstock.’ However, when the event day arrived, only 6,000 people turned up out of the projected 30,000. Most participants were aware that there were no significant nearby cities or infrastructure, so they brought their tents and set up camp.
On the government’s side, there was substantial concern regarding the event, primarily stemming from the uncertainty about the number of attendees. Consequently, the number of law enforcement officers present at the event exceeded the actual number of attendees. Fortunately, the event transpired peacefully, characterized by enjoyment, festivities, and a notable absence of attempts to infiltrate Area 51. No damage was inflicted upon property. However, the sheriff reported that the high number of police officers deployed for security purposes incurred an estimated cost of $300,000.
Revisiting the Roswell incident, it is imperative to consider the official explanation presented by the military, wherein the debris was attributed to a weather balloon. It wasn’t until 1994 that we discovered the genuine nature of the debris when the U.S. Air Force disclosed that it was associated with a nuclear surveillance balloon used in Project Mogul. The purpose of this balloon was to detect sound waves from distant nuclear tests conducted by the Soviet Union. The perpetuation of conspiracy theories can be partially attributed to the government’s history of misleading statements. Consequently, even when they released the accurate explanation in 1994, public skepticism persisted due to diminished trust in government statements.
Nonetheless, it’s crucial to emphasize that most UFO sightings can be attributed to misidentifications of various military objects such as drones, decoy flares, or unknown aircraft developments by the military. The term UFO denotes ‘Unidentified Flying Objects,’ with no assertion of extraterrestrial origins. Given the testing of unconventional-looking aircraft, including the U-2 and SR-71, around Area 51, it’s understandable why this facility became associated with alien activities.
The U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book was responsible for investigating numerous UFO sightings. Whenever individuals claimed to have observed UFOs, their reports were cross-referenced with flight records to determine the actual aircraft responsible for the sightings. This scrutiny led to the elimination of many UFO reports in the late 1950s and 1960s.
One key conspiracy theorist, Bob Lazar, claimed to have conducted government research on alien technology but was later revealed to have fabricated his educational background, including a fake degree from MIT. His claims about Element 115 as an alien spacecraft power source were debunked when Russian scientists produced the element and named it Moscovium in 2003.
In June 2013, the CIA officially recognized Area 51, declassifying the previously secret details surrounding its history under the Freedom of Information Act. In a similar manner to India’s Right to Information Act (RTI), the U.S. employs the Freedom of Information Act for requesting government information. The government’s acknowledgement of the base’s existence, as well as the release of classified information, further demystified Area 51’s secretive reputation. In addition, the CIA declassified around 13 million pages of documents in January 2017, many of which contained records related to UFO sightings and CIA experiments. They have continued to release information on UFOs or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) in January 2021.
With these developments, the U.S. government has shifted away from the term ‘UFO’ to ‘UAP,’ which stands for ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,’ to alleviate the heavy association of UFOs with aliens. In fact, the government has directed the release of information it possesses about UFOs and UAPs, reflecting a commitment to transparency and openness. In April 2020, the Pentagon released three videos that were leaked in 2007 and 2017, verifying their authenticity. In August 2020, a UAP Task Force was established by the Defense Department to detect, analyze, and catalog observed UAPs, which are perceived as potential national security threats.
It is important to acknowledge that not all UFOs or UAPs are identified. Recent years have witnessed multiple instances of U.S. military pilots encountering such phenomena, although they refrain from attributing them to extraterrestrial origins. The scrutiny surrounding these unidentified aerial phenomena persists, and Area 51 continues to serve as a site for testing next-generation aircraft.
Today, Area 51 has achieved global notoriety, attracting tourists from all over the world. In 1996, the state of Nevada renamed the highway leading to Area 51 as the ‘Extraterrestrial Highway.’ This decision was made to capitalize on the public’s fascination with the conspiracy theory and promote tourism in the area. Despite its newfound popularity, Area 51 remains a military facility. Attempting to trespass into the base will result in arrest, as was demonstrated when a Dutch YouTuber, Ties Granzier, and others trespassed into Area 51, resulting in a three-day jail sentence.
