(Possible) Top Secret Military Research
Invisibility
Yes, of course, why WOULDN’T the military be interested in invisibility technology??? Stealth and cloaking technologies were developed at Groom in the 1980s, and though we have no evidence or information about any specific programs, there are some rumors…
There are two types of materials that science has discovered which could enable such technologies: Quasicrystals and Metamaterials.
Metamaterial can have a negative refractive index. The subset of metamaterials which have a negative refractive index are called “left-handed materials”. Left-handed materials can be used to create invisibility cloaks if they can completely encapsulate the object.
The 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Daniel Shectman for the discovery of quasicrystals.
Quasi crystals are promising candidates for high energy storage materials, metal matrix components, thermal barriers, exotic coatings, infrared sensors, high power laser applications, and electro magnetics. Some high strength alloys and surgical tools are already on the market.
Anti-Gravity
There are many rumors and speculation going around about Top Secret Research Programs into Antigravity Technology. One famous example is the Aurora Project.
The Aurora Project
Aurora was a mid-1980s American reconnaissance aircraft development project, that did a large amount of research into triangular shaped aircraft including the B-2 Advanced Technology Bomber (the one that uses the gravito-electric T.T. Brown Effect for additional lift), The SR-91, The SR-75 Penetrator, and the TR-3B Astra or TR-3 Black Manta.
The U.S. government has consistently denied such an aircraft was ever built. Aviation and space reference site Aerospaceweb.org concluded, “The evidence supporting the Aurora is circumstantial or pure conjecture, there is little reason to contradict the government’s position.” Former Skunk Works director Ben Rich confirmed that “Aurora” was simply a myth in “Skunk Works”, a book detailing his days as the director. Mr. Rich wrote that a young colonel working in the Pentagon arbitrarily assigned the name “Aurora” to the funding for the B-2 bomber design competition and somehow the name was leaked to the media.
Others come to different conclusions. In 2006, veteran black project watcher and aviation writer Bill Sweetman said, “Does Aurora exist? Years of pursuit have led me to believe that, yes, Aurora is most likely in active development, spurred on by recent advances that have allowed technology to catch up with the ambition that launched the program a generation ago.”
The TR-3B and Flying Triangles
The TR-3 Black Manta is the name of a surveillance aircraft of the United States Air Force, speculated to be developed under a black project. The only known confirmed evidence for such an aircraft is based on speculations about several reported sightings of mysterious flying wing aircraft over Antelope Valley, an area of desert in southern California. This stretch of desert draws people interested in potential “black project”-related aircraft, because it is close to several known military research and testing areas, such as Edwards Air Force Base in California, and United States Air Force Plant 42
The TR-3 was said to be a subsonic stealth spy plane with a flying wing design. It was alleged to have been used in the Gulf War to provide laser designation for Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk bombers, for targeting to use with laser-guided bombs. The TR-3 was claimed to have been manufactured by Northrop.
How the TR-3 designation came up in publications is unclear. It is clearly not a continuation of the R-for-Reconnaissance series, since ER-2 (NASA designation for U-2 aircraft modified for Earth science studies) stood for “Earth Resources”, not “Electronic Reconnaissance”. It is, therefore possible that TR-3 is merely a corruption of Tier III, a name given to a cancelled large reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying wing designed around the time of alleged sightings of the Black Manta, circa 1988–1990. The Tier III Minus program that resulted in the unsuccessful Lockheed Martin RQ-3 DarkStar was a scaled-down derivative of the original Tier III.
Because there is little evidence to support TR-3’s existence, only sightings and “experience” stories by real people and also the web discussions on it, it is possible that the mysterious flying wing sightings associated with Black Manta could be a technology demonstrator for a potential new-generation tactical reconnaissance aircraft. This contention is supported by United States Air Force (USAF) sources in the late 1980s confirming that the United States had no short-term plans to develop a low-observable U-2 successor.
Another candidate for the alleged spy plane is a design from Teledyne Ryan, patented in the United States on April 26, 1977, under number 4,019,699. This aircraft of low observability, as it is called, was invented by Robert W. Wintersdorff and George R. Cota, employees at Teledyne Ryan, a firm specialized in building unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. On May 10, 1977, a design of an aircraft was patented by Teledyne Ryan under number Des. 244,265, and closely resembles the earlier mentioned example. This design was made by Waldo Virgil Opfer. The first design is unmanned, the second one manned. Whether one of these designs is related to the above-mentioned TR-3 is not positively identified, but it is a coincidence that TR also stands for Teledyne Ryan. Teledyne Ryan was acquired by Northrop Grumman in 1999.
Outside Sources and Information on Area 51
General
- Dreamland Resort – Detailed history of Area 51: The leading Area 51 Research web site since 1999
- Roadrunners Internationale, a project covering the history of the U2 and Blackbird projects
- “How Area 51 Works”, on HowStuffWorks
- Maps and photographs
- Dreamland Resort’s map of Area 51 buildings
- Topographic Map of the Emigrant Valley / Groom area
- Aerial photos from different decades, overlaid with Google Maps interface
- Photographs of McCarran EG&G terminal and JANET aircraft
- Official FAA aeronautical chart of Groom Lake
- Picture gallery
- “Historical pictures of Groom Lake, Groom Lake Mining District” – Department of Special Collections, Digital Image Collections, of the University of Nevada, Reno (accessed January 30, 2009)
U.S. Government’s Positions on Area 51
The federal government explicitly concedes (in various court filings and government directives) that the USAF has an “operating location” near Groom Lake, but does not provide any further information.
Unlike much of the Nellis range, the area surrounding the lake is permanently off-limits both to civilian and normal military air traffic. Radar stations protect the area, and unauthorized personnel are quickly expelled. Even military pilots training in the NAFR risk disciplinary action if they stray into the exclusionary “box” surrounding Groom’s airspace.[12][26]
Area 51 – Wikipedia
Excerpt
Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles (133 km) north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large secretive military airfield. The base’s primary purpose is to support development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems.[1][2]
The base lies within the United States Air Force‘s vast Nevada Test and Training Range. Although the facilities at the range are managed by the 99th Air Base Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, the Groom facility appears to be run as an adjunct of the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, around 186 miles (300 km) southwest of Groom, and as such the base is known as Air Force Flight Test Center (Detachment 3).[3][4]
Though the name Area 51 is used in official CIA documentation,[5] other names used for the facility include Dreamland, Paradise Ranch,[6][7] Home Base, Watertown Strip, Groom Lake,[8] and most recently Homey Airport.[9] The area is part of the Nellis Military Operations Area, and the restricted airspace around the field is referred to as (R-4808N),[10] known by the military pilots in the area as “The Box” or “the Container”.[11]
The intense secrecy surrounding the base, the very existence of which the U.S. government barely acknowledges, has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component to unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore.[7][12]
Classified Aircraft Hangars
Hangar 18
Hangar 18 is the largest hangar in the Area 51 complex. It is 100 feet tall and 300ft x 300ft wide. Rumor has it that this hangar is a secret entrance to a large underground facility. It is believed that the most TOP SECRET craft are stored in a large underground vault and moved up inside the hangar from underground by elevator, much like the planes on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier.