What is Area 51? What we know about the military installation
(NewsNation) — Area 51 has long been a base shrouded in secrecy, and now, veterans who served near the site are fighting for recognition after claiming exposure to dangerous radiation.
The U.S. Air Force military installation, located at Groom Lake in southern Nevada, isn't open to the public and is under 24-hour surveillance. Very little information is available from the government.
Area 51 is a highly classified United States military installation within the Nevada Test and Training Range, Military.com reports. Located 83 miles from Las Vegas, built in 1955, it was initially built to serve as a test facility for the Lockheed U-2 Spy Plane.
The origin of the name is unclear, according to Military.com. The general belief is that Area 51 was part of an Atomic Energy Commission numbering grid. However, Area 51 does not belong to this system.
Area 51 veterans getting cancer as DOD denies they were there
Over the years, other well-known aircraft has been tested at Area 51, including the Archangel-12, the SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.
Area 51 was not officially acknowledged by the CIA as a military base until June 2013.
Conspiracy theories about Area 51 began in the late 1980s, when a man who allegedly worked at the installation claimed the U.S. government was auditing recovered alien aircraft.
Other theories include Area 51 being used for weather manipulation, the development of energy weapons and exotic propulsion systems, as well as the storage and reverse engineering of alien spacecraft.
The creator of a website collecting information on all things Area 51 believes the future of military tech is still being tested in the Nevada desert, with the most enigmatic activities occurring inside a top secret base tucked inside the secret base.
The more secrecy surrounding Area 51, the more insatiable the public's appetite for information on the secret Nevada base becomes.
'[If] they don't want you to see it, you're not going to see it,' said Joerg Arnu, creator of dreamlandresort.com, a digital gathering place for aerospace enthusiasts, aviation watchers and some who have worked at the best-known secret base in the world. 'They have years and years and decades of experience hiding things.'
NewsNation's Natasha Zouves spoke directly with the Area 51 veterans fighting for benefits. They say they were exposed to radiation near Area 51, and many are now suffering from severe health issues, including deadly cancers. The DOD refuses to acknowledge their service on the secretive range.
Natasha Zouves has more on the Area 51 veterans fighting for benefits. Tune into 'NewsNation Prime' this Saturday at 7p/6C.
NewsNation affiliate KLAS contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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