Under Soviet Satellites, How Area 51 Hid (And Invented) Secret Craft 155
An anonymous reader writes "No word yet on alien starships, but now that many Cold War-era Area 51 documents have been declassified, veterans of the secret US base are revealing some of the clever — and surprisingly low-tech — ways they hid futuristic prototypes from prying eyes."
Re:Why 51? (Score:2, Interesting)
It wasn't called area 51, I forgot what the base is called but the reason why people called it area 51 is because of a quad number that it was seen from (area 51). I didn't read TFA but from a lot of testimonies from former employees it seems that it was a secret base intended to develop high-tech stuff against the reds. Whether or not there's alien technology may or may not be true, but I don't think it would be in area 51 if it were held somewhere. It was mostly an airbase that grew bigger over time, and nothing too fancy as far as a major underground complex like one would hope to find (at least what's been disclosed and accounted for). Some claim there are 2 or 3 other types of Area 51 and even an underground base in the grand canyon simply because over 100 miles of it hasn't ever been recorded and it would be the most ideal place to have a hiding spot.
Beyond that, it's all speculation. I do enjoy hearing about alien theories but there's not enough solid evidence to prove their existence, at least in cooperation or against the government. If you want to know why Area 51 came to be something more than just an airbase, look up Bob Lazar or however you spell his name. He had an interview like 20 years ago where he explained everything that he's seen and heard about the place. There's no telling whether or not he was telling the truth but that's pretty much how it really got press (outside of the Roswell incident).
Don't worry, I don't wear a tinfoil hat and think that the government is up to no good, and causing trouble in the neighborhood. If anything, I trust they know how to handle national security more than they know how to handle money. But if this whole economy gets worse, I'll go live with my auntie and uncle in bel air.
Re:Beware link... (Score:4, Interesting)
Noscript, and Adblock Plus, and I saw nothing but a National Geographic story. Pretty boring stuff. If you've ever known anyone in military intelligence, they'll tell you the same kind of story. Fake vehicles (like cardboard cutouts), scrambling to move anything "interesting" inside, or cover it with a tarp. The idea was to make every base look like it was deserted, even if there was a full complement there.
Area 51 still does a fine job of it. I check Google Maps there once in a while to see what's changed. Some of the underground bunkers, that had taxiways from the runways, which had an obvious opening, now look like they're just the side of a mountain. So you have an empty taxiway to nowhere? Yup, I'm falling for that.
I still have yet to see interesting aircraft, but of course they are the gov't, and can tell Google to remove any unpopular images before they're published. Most likely, they still do their privacy covers. What's the difference between a dirty colored tarp, and the side of a mountain? Absolutely nothing without very high resolution and/or infrared imaging.
For reference, this [google.com] is one of those spots.
If you browse around, they only have 4 aircraft. Two airliners, two helicopters, and one fighter jet. Hmmm, that doesn't seem quite right, now does it? :)
This [google.com] is my favorite feature of the area.
Oops, I rambled again, didn't I? Oh well.