logo
Bombshell report reveals Pentagon fueled UFO myths around Area 51 to hide classified weapons program

Bombshell report reveals Pentagon fueled UFO myths around Area 51 to hide classified weapons program

Scottish Suna day ago

America's UFO craze could be built on government lies
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
SOME wild UFO conspiracy theories were deliberately cooked up and stoked the Pentagon itself, a bombshell report has revealed.
The U.S. Department of Defense spread claims that aliens were kept at Area 51 to cover up secret weapons programs, according to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal.
4
Some UFO conspiracy theories actually began inside the Department of Defense, the WSJ revealed
Credit: Getty
4
The purpose of the rumours was apparently to divert attention from secret weapons testing
Credit: Getty
4
This was quietly left out of the Department of Defense's 2024 transparency report
Credit: Getty
In the 1980s, a U.S. Air Force colonel visited a bar near Area 51 in Nevada and handed the owner doctored photos of flying saucers near the military base.
The photos were pinned to the walls - and before long, local legend, followed by the rest of the world, had it the U.S. military was secretly testing recovered alien tech.
This came to light in a shocking review of the 2024 Defense Department report published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Friday.
The now-retired officer admitted to Pentagon investigators in 2023 that he was on an official mission to hide the site's real purpose.
What was really happening at Area 51 was the secret testing and development of weapons programs and a stealth warplane - the F-117 Nighthawk - seen as vital to keeping an edge over the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
But the Pentagon dismissed claims of a government UFO cover-up in their report last year.
The WSJ argues that not only did the government mislead the public but it actively fuelled UFO myths.
The report writes: "The Pentagon itself sometimes deliberately fanned the flames, in what amounted to the U.S. government targeting its own citizens with disinformation."
It includes findings made by Sean Kirkpatrick, the first director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), who in 2022 was tasked with investigating countless UFO theories.
Kirkpatrick discovered several conspiracies that traced back to the Pentagon itself.
I'm an Area 51 investigator – FBI raided my home & tried to silence me but I know secret UFO base is hiding new weapons
For example, his team found out that the Air Force had initiated new recruits by giving them mock briefings about a fake unit called 'Yankee Blue' - which supposedly investigated alien spacecraft.
Under strict orders to keep quiet, many people never discovered that this was a prank, Kirkpatrick's team claimed.
The strange practice continued until 2023 when the Pentagon finally issued an order across the DoD to put an end to it.
Another finding by Kirkpatrick, reported by the WSJ, was that the government deliberately misled the public about secret military projects.
For instance, Robert Salas, a former Air Force captain, claims he saw a UFO hover over a nuclear missile site in Montana in 1967.
In reality, what he saw was a test of an early electromagnetic pulse (EMP) designed to see if American silos could survive atomic radiation and retaliate if the Soviet Union struck first.
The test failed and Salas was told to never discuss what he saw, the report tells.
A DoD spokesperson admitted to the WSJ that the government has not shared all of AARO's findings, saying a new report due later this year will be clearer.
Sue Gough said: 'The department is committed to releasing a second volume of its Historical Record Report, to include AARO's findings on reports of potential pranks and inauthentic materials.'
It comes as a photo claiming to show a 1,000ft-wide silver UFO soaring over the US was released by a notorious Pentagon whistleblower.
The picture was allegedly snapped by an airline pilot in 2021 while flying 21,000ft above the Four Corners Monument - spanning New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.
Luis Elizondo revealed the photo during a UAP Disclosure Fund event.
But sceptics were quick to challenge the discovery - claiming the photo merely showed irrigation circles that are common in desert climates.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

'Resign if you disagree', Labour tell civil servants over Israel
'Resign if you disagree', Labour tell civil servants over Israel

The National

time40 minutes ago

  • The National

'Resign if you disagree', Labour tell civil servants over Israel

The BBC reported that some 300 staff had signed a letter addressed to Foreign Secretary David Lammy last month in which concerns were raised about UK 'complicity' with Israel. The letter questioned Labour's decision to continue to license exports of military equipment to Israel, saying: "In July 2024, staff expressed concern about Israel's violations of international humanitarian law and potential UK Government complicity. 'In the intervening period, the reality of Israel's disregard for international law has become more stark." READ MORE: 'Reprehensible': LBC spark fury with report on Israel's seizure of Madleen aid ship It further accused the UK Government of contributing to "the erosion of global norms", pointing to both the weapons exports and the secret visit to London in April by Israel's foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar. As The National previously reported, UK Government figures have shown that more military equipment was licensed for export in the final three months of 2024 – after Labour suspended some 10% of export licences – than had been licensed through all of 2020-2023. Labour have also refused to stop exporting parts for F-35 fighter jets, which Israel has used in Gaza, claiming that to do so would endanger UK military operations elsewhere – and has continued sending spy planes over Gaza to aid Israel. The BBC reported that the reply to the Foreign Office staff's concerns was sent from Sir Oliver Robbins and Nick Dyer, the two most senior civil servants in the Foreign Office. Foreign Secretary David Lammy U-turned after saying Israel is breaching the lawIt told the hundreds of staff that if their 'disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound your ultimate recourse is to resign from the Civil Service. This is an honourable course." The pair said that the "bargain at the heart of the British Civil Service is that we sign up to deliver the policies of the Government of the day wholeheartedly, within the limits imposed by the law and the Civil Service Code". The UK Government's official position is that Israel is "at risk" of breaching international law. Foreign Secretary Lammy previously said Israel was breaching the law on multiple occasions, before U-turning in an embarrassing parliamentary climbdown. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted for arrest by the International Criminal Court, and the country is facing credible accusations of committing genocide. The BBC reported that the dismissed letter was 'at least the fourth such document sent by concerned civil servants to ministers and Foreign Office managers since late 2023'. A Foreign Office spokesperson said there were 'systems in place which allow [staff] to raise concerns if they have them".

Hegseth faces Congress for first time since Signal leaks and Marine deployment to Los Angeles
Hegseth faces Congress for first time since Signal leaks and Marine deployment to Los Angeles

The Independent

time4 hours ago

  • The Independent

Hegseth faces Congress for first time since Signal leaks and Marine deployment to Los Angeles

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to field sharp questions from members of Congress about his tumultuous start as Pentagon chief, including his sharing of sensitive military details over a Signal chat, in three separate Capitol Hill hearings beginning Tuesday. Lawmakers also have made it clear they are unhappy that Hegseth has not provided details on the administration's first proposed defense budget, which President Donald Trump has said would total $1 trillion, a significant increase over the current spending level of more than $800 billion. It will be lawmakers' first chance to ask Hegseth about a myriad of other controversial spending by the Pentagon, including plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on security upgrades to turn a Qatari jet into Air Force One and to pour as much as $45 million into a parade recently added to the Army 's 250th birthday bash, which happens to coincide with Trump's birthday on Saturday. Lawmakers may quiz Hegseth on the latest searing images coming out of the immigration raid protests in Los Angeles. Hegseth has deployed about 700 active-duty Marines to assist more than 4,100 National Guard troops in protecting federal buildings and personnel. But there are questions about what the troops will have to do and how much it will all cost. Under the Posse Comitatus Act, troops are prohibited from policing U.S. citizens on American soil. Invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows troops to do that, is incredibly rare, and it's not clear if Trump plans to do it. The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Eric Smith, will be on Capitol Hill testifying at a separate budget hearing at the same time as Hegseth and is likely to face similar questions. What Hegseth has focused on so far Hegseth has spent vast amounts of time during his first five months in office promoting the social changes he's making at the Pentagon. He's been far less visible in the administration's more critical international security crises and negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and Iran. Most recently, Hegseth directed the renaming of a Navy ship that had honored Harvey Milk, a slain gay rights activist who served as a sailor during the Korean War. His spokesman, Sean Parnell, said the renaming was needed to ensure "the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the commander-in-chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos.' Hegseth has posted numerous videos of his morning workouts with troops or of himself signing directives to purge diversity and equity programs and online content from the military. He has boasted of removing transgender service members from the force and firing so-called woke generals, many of whom were women. He was on the international stage about a week ago, addressing an annual national security conference in Asia about threats from China. But a trip to NATO headquarters last week was quick and quiet, and he deliberately skipped a gathering of about 50 allies and partners where they discussed ongoing support for Ukraine. His use of the Signal messaging app Hegseth's hearing Tuesday before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee will be his first public appearance on Capitol Hill since he squeaked through his Senate confirmation with a tie-breaking vote. It was the closest vote of any Cabinet member. While he has talked a lot about making the military more lethal, it was his use of the unclassified, unsecured Signal messaging app that quickly caught public attention. Set up by then-national security adviser Mike Waltz, a group chat included Hegseth and other senior administration leaders and was used to share information about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. The chat became a public embarrassment because the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to it. Waltz took responsibility for the gaffe, but Hegseth was roundly criticized for sharing details about the military strikes in this chat and in another one that included his wife and brother. Multiple investigations are looking into his use of Signal. The Defense Department's acting inspector general has been looking into the initial chat at the request of the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Pentagon's watchdog also is reviewing whether any of Hegseth's aides were asked to delete any Signal messages. Controversial Pentagon spending While any number of those issues could come up at the House Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, money issues are more likely to be the focus of the hearings Tuesday in the House and Wednesday before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. Already defense leaders have been grilled in other hearings on the plans to retrofit the Qatari jet and the costs of the military parade. Trump has long wanted a parade, and Army leaders defended it as a good way to attract new recruits. Other questions may involve the costs of expanding the use of military forces to secure the southern border, the plans for the Golden Dome missile defense program, and how the department intends to fund modernization programs for drones and other critical weapons systems.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store