Area 51

Area 51 is among the most famous military institutions in the world that don’t officially exist. But for those of you who don’t believe the official version, the base is located 100 miles outside Las Vegas in Nevada’s high desert, right between an Air Force base and an abandoned nuclear testing ground.

Once in the right location, an unmarked road leads to the front gate of Area 51. There, you won’t find much more than a fence, a gate and trespassing signs. It almost seems unprotected, but it is not. Cameras scout the area constantly, and there’s a white pickup truck checking on everything below. Some say that inside, guards know everything and everyone who passes around the base, others even claim that there are embedded sensors in the approaching road.

Theories about this place are many and growing, made easier by the extreme secrecy around Area 51. It is in fact forbidden to drive anywhere around it, and until recently, the airspace overhead was also restricted. Until 2013 the base wasn’t even acknowledged by the U.S. government! In that year, in fact, the National Security Archive at the George Washington University obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) a formerly classified CIA document about the U-2 spy plane. According to the report, the site—which included an airfield not used by the military since World War II—was chosen in 1955 to test the U-2. Test flights of the plane have been used to explain the numerous UFO sightings in the area, since the U-2 could reach much higher altitudes than any other plane at the time, and could have, therefore, been mistaken for an extraterrestrial vehicle. After the U-2, Area 51 was used to develop other planes, such as the A-12, also known as OXCART.

Mostly because of its secrecy, it has become the centre of focus of many conspiracy theorists, who believe that the place is used by the Government to hide UFOs and extra-terrestrial beings stored in freezers. Furthermore, another reason for all the rumours around this facility is the number of reports of UFO sightings happened in the vicinity. Some believe that Area 51 is connected by underground tunnels and trains to other secret facilities around the United States. Many even think that the first landing on the moon never took place, and was instead staged in Area 51. One of the most interesting rumours wants that the 1947 Roswell crash was actually a Soviet aircraft piloted by mutated midgets and that there are remains on the grounds of Area 51.

Other supposed purposes of the military base are meetings and agreements with extra-terrestrials, the development of exotic energy weapons for the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) or other weapons programs, the development of means of weather control, the creation of propulsion systems related to the Aurora Program, activities related to a one-world government or the Majestic 12 organization, the development of time travel and teleportation technology.

All this gossips and theories have been then further fuelled in 1989 when in an interview on Las Vegas local news, Bob Lazar claimed that he had seen aliens and helped reverse-engineering alien spacecraft while he was still working at Area 51. He wasn’t believed by many, but for some this has been the long-awaited confirmation that something weird is actually going on in the facility.

On the topic, the aerospace historian and author Peter Merlin said: “This is Earth technology. You got folks claiming it’s extraterrestrial when it’s really good old American know-how.”

As of today, Area 51 is still very much in use. Giving a look at Google Earth, we can see that new construction and expansions keep happening. And even spookier, on most early mornings, attentive visitors can spot strange lights in the sky moving up and down. Sadly, they are not, once again, UFOs, but a semi-secret contract commuter airline using the call-sign “Janet” that transports workers from Las Vegas’s McCarran Airport to the base.

But what is happening in Area 51 today? We do not know. Peter Merlin cared to guess that it has something to do with improved stealth technology, advanced weapons, electronic warfare systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. Chris Pocock, U-2 historian and author of several books about the matter, thinks that in the base there are classified aircraft, forms of radio communication, directed energy weapons, and lasers, under development.

And even if this might all be fiction and there might be nothing at all going on in Area 51, most days there is a line of people gathering on the outside of the fences. To use Merlin’s words once again: “At the most basic level, anytime you have something secret or forbidden, it’s human nature. You want to find out what it is.”

For those of you who want to experience with your own eyes, the secret of this military base, a trip to Nevada’s desert is a must-do. Even if getting inside is not a possibility for most, curious civilians can actually drive up to front and back gates. Try to keep in mind, though, that the government doesn’t really want you trying to get inside Area 51. Merlin, such as many others, have confirmed that they have been closely observed or even intimidated by guards and security. Do not trespass under any circumstances or you will most definitely be arrested or subjected to fines.

Among all the myths and legends, what we know for sure is that Area 51 is real and quite active still today. Maybe moon landing and aliens are, at least to some, a bit of a stretch, but something is surely going on and only a select few are lucky enough to know what.

Borrowing one last time Merlin’s words, “The forbidden aspect of Area 51 is what makes people want to know what’s there. And there sure is still a lot going on there.”

Author Letizia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51

http://www.dreamlandresort.com/

https://www.britannica.com/story/what-is-known-and-not-known-about-area-51

https://www.history.com/news/what-goes-on-at-area-51

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