'Truth' behind Area 51 UFO conspiracies unveiled in bombshell US report
Area 51 conspiracy theories and fake UFO sightings were deliberately planted to conceal Cold War-era military projects including stealth fighter jets, a bombshell report has found
A bombshell US Government report has shone new light on Area 51 conspiracy theories after decades of UFO sightings. Believers have long claimed that extra-terrestrial life is being hidden at the high-security base in Nevada, with fantastical stories of alien autopsies and secret otherworldly technology fuelled by repeated sightings of unexplained flying objects.
The US government has always maintained the Area 51 is merely a flight testing facility. Now, a new review from a US Department of Defense taskforce has revealed that both the Pentagon and the Justice Department deliberately fuelled UFO conspiracy theories - including those about Area 51 - to conceal Cold War -era military projects, such as stealth fighter jets.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the report states that an Air Force colonel was sent on a mission to spread false information about Area 51 in the early 1980s.
This included visiting a nearby bar and handing owner fake photos of flying saucers, sparking a new frenzy of rumours about the base.
The since-retired colonel later told Pentagon investigators that the purpose of mission had been to distract the public from the development of the then-secret F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft.
Officials hoped this would help shield the project from surveillance by the USSR, he said.
Sean Kirkpatrick, a former head of Pentagon's UFO office who now heads the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) taskforce, trawled through decades of military reports on unidentified aerial phenomena for the new report.
He found that on several occasions, alien conspiracy theories were planted by the Pentagon themselves.
This included a bogus alien-hunting squad, known as 'Yankee Blue', which recruited serving members of the Air Force through a hazing ritual.
Candidates for the project were shown pictures of flying saucers and told they would be helping to 'reverse-engineering alien aircraft' while being sworn to secrecy.
Servicemen involved in the programme would only find out it was fake decades later when it was officially declassified in 2023.
Mr Kirkpatrick's review also evaluated one famous incident from 1967 involving former US Air Force captain Robert Salas, who described seeing a 'UFO' disable ten nuclear missiles at a base in Utah. Mr Salas said he was ordered to stay silent about the incident.
But the report found that the technical issues likely resulted from a secret electromagnetic pulse (EMP) test used to gauge the base's resilience to interference, which Mr Salas and his colleagues had not been told about.
Some parts of the AARO's first public report were withheld last year at the request of the US Air Force, with a full follow-up containing all redacted details expected to be released later this year.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Remains of couple who went missing off Cape Cod found after crews locate their missing fishing boat
The bodies of two people have been discovered aboard a sunken fishing boat off the coast of Eastham in Cape Cod, the Coast Guard said Wednesday. Captain of the F/V Seahorse, Shawn Arsenault, 64, and his girlfriend, Felicia Daley, 54, set sail out of Rock Harbor in Orleans on Sunday for a clamming trip, Arsenault's brother, Paul, told NBC10 Boston. The couple was fishing near the Target Ship Wreck off Eastham in Cape Cod Bay and a cellphone ping last located their boat about two miles off the coast of Chatham. Their boat had not returned to dock as expected by Tuesday morning, prompting a search by the Coast Guard. Paul Arsenault said the couple had only been dating a few months and were 'crazy about each other.' Officials said Shawn Arsenault was seen throwing electronic items overboard just after leaving Orleans, including a GPS that was found on the beach. Paul Arsenault told NBC10 Boston about his brother, "He was very excited about his new equipment, he installed it, left Sunday morning, and he said that he wasn't coming back till he had his 30-bag limit, and that's the last I heard of him.' Aerial video showed the sunken boat near Saints Landing in Brewster. The Coast Guard said Arsenault had been remodeling the white boat that had a mermaid on the bow and 'Seahorse' painted on the stern. 'Our hearts go out to the families of both persons onboard," Commander Cliff Graham, a search and rescue mission coordinator for the case, said in a statement. "The level of support from our maritime response partners and members from the fishing and local community was remarkable. It directly contributed to detection of the vessel and closure for the family." The Coast Guard is asking anyone with information to contact the Sector Southeastern New England command center.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Reuters
Russian court orders house arrest of politician accused of discrediting the Russian army
MOSCOW, June 11 (Reuters) - A court in Pskov said on Wednesday it had ruled that opposition politician Lev Shlosberg be placed under house arrest for two months and face unspecified restrictions on his activities at the request of state prosecutors. Shlosberg was detained on Tuesday and charged with discrediting the Russian army after describing the war in Ukraine as a game of "bloody chess", his party said. The 61-year-old made the comment in a video debate in January in which he urged an end to the war. The liberal Yabloko party, of which Shlosberg is a senior member, said his arrest was linked to those remarks. He denies the charge, it said. The court service of the Pskov region, which borders Estonia, on Wednesday published an image of Shlosberg at a court hearing standing up inside a courtroom cage. It noted that the authorities had already designated Shlosberg "a foreign agent," a label which carries negative Soviet-era connotations and complicates designees' lives. Shlosberg, one of relatively few opposition politicians remaining in the country, faces up to five years in jail if convicted.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'Truth' behind Area 51 UFO conspiracies unveiled in bombshell US report
Area 51 conspiracy theories and fake UFO sightings were deliberately planted to conceal Cold War-era military projects including stealth fighter jets, a bombshell report has found A bombshell US Government report has shone new light on Area 51 conspiracy theories after decades of UFO sightings. Believers have long claimed that extra-terrestrial life is being hidden at the high-security base in Nevada, with fantastical stories of alien autopsies and secret otherworldly technology fuelled by repeated sightings of unexplained flying objects. The US government has always maintained the Area 51 is merely a flight testing facility. Now, a new review from a US Department of Defense taskforce has revealed that both the Pentagon and the Justice Department deliberately fuelled UFO conspiracy theories - including those about Area 51 - to conceal Cold War -era military projects, such as stealth fighter jets. According to The Wall Street Journal, the report states that an Air Force colonel was sent on a mission to spread false information about Area 51 in the early 1980s. This included visiting a nearby bar and handing owner fake photos of flying saucers, sparking a new frenzy of rumours about the base. The since-retired colonel later told Pentagon investigators that the purpose of mission had been to distract the public from the development of the then-secret F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft. Officials hoped this would help shield the project from surveillance by the USSR, he said. Sean Kirkpatrick, a former head of Pentagon's UFO office who now heads the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) taskforce, trawled through decades of military reports on unidentified aerial phenomena for the new report. He found that on several occasions, alien conspiracy theories were planted by the Pentagon themselves. This included a bogus alien-hunting squad, known as 'Yankee Blue', which recruited serving members of the Air Force through a hazing ritual. Candidates for the project were shown pictures of flying saucers and told they would be helping to 'reverse-engineering alien aircraft' while being sworn to secrecy. Servicemen involved in the programme would only find out it was fake decades later when it was officially declassified in 2023. Mr Kirkpatrick's review also evaluated one famous incident from 1967 involving former US Air Force captain Robert Salas, who described seeing a 'UFO' disable ten nuclear missiles at a base in Utah. Mr Salas said he was ordered to stay silent about the incident. But the report found that the technical issues likely resulted from a secret electromagnetic pulse (EMP) test used to gauge the base's resilience to interference, which Mr Salas and his colleagues had not been told about. Some parts of the AARO's first public report were withheld last year at the request of the US Air Force, with a full follow-up containing all redacted details expected to be released later this year.
