Really, there are plenty of places around the world that are completely (or mostly) off limits
to the public – and for various reasons. Menwith Hill in the UK, the Secret Archive in the Vatican
City, and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on a Norwegian island are all places that most people
will never be able to see. Almost every other mysterious location, however, is overshadowed by
the most famous, most secretive base in the world - Area 51. So, this is WatchMojo, and today we’re
examining the real reason why you can’t visit Area 51. Despite its pop culture prominence,
Area 51’s very existence wasn’t formally recognised by the CIA until 2013. Before then,
whether or not there even was such a base was officially disputed. The first strange thing about
it? Its name. The title “Area 51” is widely used, but the reasons for that aren’t altogether known.
The CIA itself more often refers to the southern Nevada site as “Homey Airport” or “Groom Lake”.
One theory says that the Area 51 tag was given to it by the Atomic Energy Commission… but no
one is sure. And it goes by various other aliases, too, including “Dreamland”, “Paradise Ranch” and
“Watertown”. Call it what you will, though, Area 51 likely started up as a particularly secret base
in (or around) 1954, when the US government needed a remote location to test a new and classified spy
plane, under the codename Project Aquatone. That plane was the Lockheed U-2 strategic
reconnaissance aircraft, a feat of cutting-edge design at the time. In its previous life,
the region had been something of a mining hotspot for silver, but that fell by the wayside when it
was repurposed for the military. Situated in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by mountains,
the location was deemed suitably difficult for spies to find, for visitors to visit,
or for unsuspecting folk to randomly wander into. The land is also extremely flat and therefore
ideal for the building of landing strips. It was the perfect playground for any would-be
secret pilot or clandestine government worker. The controversy started almost immediately,
however, as nearby civilians began reporting UFO sightings around Area 51 in the ‘50s. The bizarre
stories and unusual claims have essentially been a constant ever since, as Area 51 became more and
more steeped in spooky, paranormal, and ET legend. When, toward the end of the twentieth century,
one Bob Lazar claimed to have worked at Area 51 in the 1980s – during which time he allegedly studied
and handled genuine alien technology – that legend took yet another turn. The American people and the
watching world became hooked on finding out the truth. But, of course, the US authorities have
never been especially free with that information… which is one leading reason why so many of
alternative theories are still so widespread. To this day the government is extremely tight-lipped
about what goes on inside the base. For miles around, the surrounding area is permanently off
limits to anyone except those with specific, high security clearance. Even most military air traffic
is banned across local airspace. No cameras are allowed near or inside. All roads going in are
blocked off, and the desert plains are always being watched. Area 51 employees are sworn to
secrecy, allegedly to the point where many who work there also don’t technically exist… or else,
they officially lead wholly different lives. It’s said that most can’t even commute to work via car,
instead being ferried in and out of the base via a fleet of passenger jets known as “Janet Airlines”.
There are locals that don’t work at Area 51, though, and they can be expensive – according to
reports. There are various claims of hush money being doled out… with one former base employee,
for example, James Noce, revealing to the Seattle Times in 2010 that the government once gave around
$50,000 to a local deputy and passing family after they’d witnessed an “accident” nearby.
If anyone is found to have filmed anything at Area 51, that film is promptly destroyed. Audio
recordings and photographs, too. With rumors of harsh threats made to anyone who doesn’t
comply. We got a brief insight into the hard-line response during the “Storm Area 51” craze in 2019.
Participants had wanted to “see them aliens”, but the somewhat foreboding government response was
a pledge that “the US Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets”. Most
agree that the extreme secrecy dates to the height of the cold war with the Soviet Union,
when America was determined to get ahead. It’s now widely reported how local pilots knew back then,
while all other aircrafts flew below 40,000 feet, there were objects around the base that
flew higher. The military was testing planes that flew 60,000 feet (and more) in the air,
which hadn’t previously been thought possible. And, in general, the top-secret airplane
explanation does still seem to stick. Area 51 is home to some of the longest runways in the world.
And the original U-2 is now known to be just one of many, similarly futuristic flying machines that
debuted there. Although at least two pilots were reportedly killed while testing the U-2, Project
Oxcart came after it… and produced two more of the fastest vehicles ever made, the Archangel-12 and,
later, the SR-71 Blackbird. Soaring up to 90,000 feet in the air and hitting more than three times
the speed of sound, these were game changers… but officials wanted to keep them under wraps for as
long as possible. Other known projects based at Area 51 have included the F-117 Nighthawk and
the Boeing “Bird of Prey” tested as recently as the 1990s. Whenever mention of Area 51 comes up,
it’s usually not long followed by the term “reverse engineering” – with most theories
suggesting that they’ve got alien tech in there, that they’re trying to replicate.
What we do know is that the base has been used to reverse engineer foreign aircrafts from Earth,
at least… such as a captured Soviet plane in the 1960s, a MiG-21 fighter jet, said to have at one
time been operated on under the bizarre codename “Have Doughnut”. What’s more, the data from that
project is then said to have been vital to the success of the famous Top Gun fighter pilot
school. These missions have all been variously declassified over the years, to the point where
some believe that the speculation about Area 51 should’ve ended by now. It’s a covert facility
for testing state-of-the-art aircraft in a bid by America to get ahead of its rivals,
and that’s that. But, for others, that’s still only what they want you to believe. A smokescreen
to hide the aliens at Area 51’s beating heart. Again, Bob Lazar is probably the most well-known
and outspoken advocate for this, claiming to have worked on extraterrestrial projects
himself. The US authorities deny any links to Lazar, but he has gone into detail about his
time at Area 51… even describing or predicting some things that have since been revealed,
or have come to pass. Think Element 115. Lazar’s claims are then perhaps heightened by local UFO
reports from both before and after his story first made the press, in the late ‘80s. Again,
though, there are two sides to the debate. On one, there are stories of witnessed UFOs that seemingly
defy physics and must be alien… on the other, such futuristic aircraft (as the Nighthawk, Blackbird,
or Bird of Prey) might easily have been mistaken for alien vehicles, by anyone without advanced
military know-how. Which is most people. Hey, even the name “Bird of Prey” takes inspiration from the
“Star Trek” universe, so out-of-this-world was it deemed to be, at the time. Unfortunately,
that’s the extent of the knowledge that most of the watching world currently has on Area 51. The
government remains intent (to an exceptional degree) on keeping the projects housed there a
secret. And while there have been attempts in the past to learn more – including the recent “Storm
Area 51” event, and a reasonably high-profile environmental lawsuit in the mid-1990s,
following the reported deaths of two more Area 51 employees – the incredible intrigue remains. The
veil of mystery is defiantly drawn shut, and Area 51 is still one of the most secretive places on
Earth. But finally, there’s one last theory that flips the narrative again. Because what if Area 51
is actually a bluff within a bluff within a bluff? Again, this place might reasonably be described
as the most famous, most secretive base in the world… which begs the question; what if everyone
has been led to think that the aliens are here, when really they’re somewhere else entirely? It
would be a classic case of misdirection on a massive scale… but also, probably,
a topic for another video. Until then, that’s the real reason why you can’t visit Area 51.