File 008 · 1955–today · Secret base

Area 51

The Nevada test site was long denied. In 2013 CIA documents confirmed it exists and was used to test the U-2 spy plane.

What the record shows

• The base was set up in 1955 for the U-2 program.
• CIA history documents released in 2013 (after a Freedom of Information request) referred to it by name.
• It has hosted testing of secret aircraft.

Claimed, but not shown

Stories about recovered alien spacecraft there have no supporting evidence.

Verdict

Sources

• CIA U-2 history documents (released 2013)
• National Security Archive

Connected files (red threads)

• Roswell — Conflated in UFO lore
• UAP and "The Age of Disclosure" — Often cited in UFO claims
• Project Azorian and the Glomar Explorer — Cover stories and secrecy around a secret government project
• The Philadelphia Experiment — Secret-base folklore around real military research
• The CIA's role in the study of UFOs — The spy planes were developed and tested there

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