From controlling the weather to insect drones, here are 10 of the top abandoned and declassified
projects ever!
10.
Operation Popeye
The Vietnam war saw the US military experiment with a number of new technologies, but one
of the most far reached projects was known as Operation Popeye.
It was the only known attempt at weather modification that has taken place for military purposes,
and was considered a relative success!
For understandable reasons, the government tried their best to keep it under wraps.
This operation took place between 1967 and 1972 and was focused on areas of the Ho Chi
Minh Trail.
In an attempt to limit the movements of the Vietcong in the region, clouds were seeded
with silver iodide to try and extend the monsoon season.
The increased rainfall would then soften the road surfaces with mud, cause landslides,
destroy river crossings and make the land much more difficult to cross for long periods
of time.
The program was overseen by Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State at the time, along
with the CIA- but controversially it was done without the knowledge of the secretary of
Defence, Melvin Laird, who had expressly denied any attempts of weather modification to Congress.
Maybe it was plausible deniability….any way...
The operation was quite successful at slowing down truck traffic in the targeted areas due
to the increased rainfall.
In some cases, it extended the monsoon season for up to 45 days.
Scary to think that this is proof that controlling the weather can actually work, and that the
government has actually done it before!
The operation was forced to end, though, when the New York Times exposed the details in
1972, and Congress took steps to ban what they called environmental warfare.
Weather modification for militaristic purposes is now outlawed under the International Environmental
Modification Convention, so all further research has officially ceased.
9.
Operation Washtub
With Alaska’s proximity to Russia, it’s perhaps no surprise that extra steps were
taken during the 50’s to protect the nation from any attack that might come from the north.
At the time, Alaska was still only a US territory, and the operation ran from 1951 through 1959
when it became a fully fledged state.
The Soviets were helping North Korea battle the South, but it was thought by many to be
a distraction from their true aim- to either attack Northern Europe or America.
The idea was that, if the Soviets were to launch an assault involving bombings and the
dropping of paratroopers, there would be a number of civilian agents who could hide in
the remote wilderness and transmit intelligence to the American military.
These SBA’s, or Stay Behind Agents, would make their way to survival stashes of food,
gear, and communications equipment.
A second group of civilian agents would be tasked with helping military personnel who
had become trapped in Soviet held areas, to escape back to safety.
One of the rules of soviet conduct instructed them to eliminate any resistance found in
occupied territory.
This meant that officials were so worried about the threat, that they also trained reserve
agents outside of Alaska who could be dropped into place should the need arise.
The Operation was marked as top secret, and in total 89 agents were trained and paid $3,000
for their involvement.
Of course, the plan was never put into action because the perceived threat never came, but
it was only in 2014 that the truth behind Operation Washtub was revealed due to a Freedom
of Information request.
8.
Polyus Battlestation
During the Cold War, the US was involved in the development of countless secret projects,
but as we know, as usual Russia was doing the same too.
One of the most famous American projects that never saw the light of day, as far as we know,
became known as the Star Wars Defense Program- but the Soviets had their own equivalent-
the Polyus Battlestation.
This monstrous creation was actually built, and was designed to operate as an orbital
weapons platform that could destroy other satellites by using an inbuilt array of lasers.
This weapon was seen as being so powerful, that Gorbachev actually expressly prohibited
the in-orbit testing of its power, because this in itself could be interpreted by other
nations as the development of a space weapon.
Luckily this never became an issue.
Because of its immense weight, the payload had to be launched upside down to get it into
orbit, and boosters would fire to correct its position.
Something went catastrophically wrong, though, when it was launched in 1987, and it was never
able to reach orbit- instead burning up in the atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean.
Despite this failure, the technology produced to make this project a reality pushed the
Soviet space program forward, and elements of the design were used for the MIR space
station, and the Zarya module of the ISS- although the full details of the battle station
itself remained under wraps for many years after.
7.
Project Azorian
At some point during March of 1968, a Soviet submarine, called the K-129, suffered a catastrophic
failure when patrolling the waters 1,560 miles northeast of Hawaii.
It sank with all of its secrets onboard, and this led to the CIA developing a plan known
as Project Azorian.
It’s not entirely clear how they knew about the incident, or the exact location of the
sub, but the project was formed to try and salvage the wreckage to see what they could
learn.
A commercial vessel, the Hughes Glomar Explorer, was modified to carry out the task, and six
years later they were able to retrieve a portion of the submersible.
All details of this project were classified as Top Secret at the time, and it was only
in early 2010 that the files were declassified- although in a severely redacted form.
It’s still not entirely clear what was retrieved, nor what was learned about Soviet capabilities.
6.
Project Ornithopter and Insectothopter
Always trying to be a fly on the wall in all situations, the CIA’s research and development
office developed project Ornithopter and Insectothopter in the 1970s.
They were early style drones, the size of birds and dragonflies, that could get really
close to sites of interest- and maybe even land on a window ledge to take photos and
record audio.
The Insectothopter was handpainted to look like a dragonfly, and was powered by a miniature
fluidic oscillator to flap the wings and provide lift and thrust.
They were incredibly lifelike and the projects were looking very promising until they hit
a problem.
The drones were virtually impossible to fly in windy conditions.
Because of this, they were deemed too problematic and the entire project was cancelled after
only a few prototypes had been built.
Who knows what they have now!
5.
Project 1794
This declassified project from the US Air Force could quite well be the reason behind
so many supposed UFO sightings around the test sites of Nevada.
Simply known as Project 1794, the design of this aircraft was completely unique- and saucer
shaped.
It was created in the 1950’s, and went as far as the prototype phase before the project
was canned.
Created in partnership with a Canadian company, the designers had lofty ambitions for this
new craft.
It would reach a height of up to 100,000 feet, have a top speed of Mach 4, and have a range
of 1,000 miles.
This would have been the most effective aircraft ever built and, if it had been possible, would
have meant it could take off and land vertically, fly into the earth’s stratosphere, and travel
at speeds of up to 2,600 miles per hour.
This would have revolutionized military and, perhaps, civilian aircraft- but they soon
found out there were significant problems with the design.
At the time it cost just over 3 million dollars to build the prototype- about 27 million dollars
today- which I guess isn’t too crazy a number, but they didn’t’ get anywhere near the
target figures.
A number of different saucer designs were built, but the highest one ever reached was
3 feet, and it only managed to travel at 35 miles per hour.
Realising the lack of potential with the concept, project 1794 was shut down before the end
of the decade.
4.
Kidnapping the Lunik
During the 60s, the Soviet Union would regularly showcase its technological prowess, such as
plans for nuclear plants and machinery, at various conventions in a number of countries.
In one case, though, a last minute addition to the exhibition offered a unique opportunity
to the CIA.
It became clear that a Lunik landing module was going to be shown, and intelligence services
couldn’t resist the chance to take a look.
While at the exhibition, it was constantly monitored by a security guard.
So the CIA decided that the only way to get the photographs they needed would be if they
you know, “borrowed” it while in transit.
They diverted the shipment while it was being moved into storage, and by manipulating the
manifests, they managed to get themselves a 24 hour window to look at everything they
wanted to.
When they were done, they carefully packed it back up and sent it on, and no one knew
the difference.
The CIA finally admitted to this daring operation and the full details were released in a freedom
of information request in 2014.
As far as they were aware, the Soviet’s had no idea that the module had been “borrowed”
until the public revelation.
3.
Project Pluto
Project Pluto is, quite simply, one of the most insane weapons programs ever developed.
Unsurprisingly, it was soon abandoned because of the vast devastation that it would have
caused.
Stemming from a project that began in 1957, the weapon became known as the flying crowbar.
It was a nuclear-powered cruise missile, but one that flew at extremely high speed and
low altitudes- just above the tree lines- and spewed out nuclear material along the
way.
It had a nuclear ramjet engine, which meant that once it reached enough speed the air
intake would keep it continually going, so once it had dropped its payload of at least
16 hydrogen bombs, it would continue screaming through the sky and wreaking further havoc.
With a noise of 150 decibels, continual nuclear waste being dropped along its route, and the
fact it would need to travel across friendly territory before reaching its target, it was
soon deemed far too destructive to be a useful weapon, so attentions were soon focused elsewhere.
But kind of scary to think that it might still be out there in storage somewhere.
2.
The Knights Templar
The Knights Templar were a military order of the Roman Catholic Church.
They were heavily involved in various wars during the Crusades and are thought by many
to be the guardians of the Holy Grail- the cup that Christ drank from at the final supper.
But things didn’t end well for them, as they were tried for heresy and other misdeeds
between 1307 and 1312.
Following the trials, a number were executed and the order was disbanded, but records of
what happened were kept under wraps for more than 700 years.
That was, however, until the Vatican released copies of the records from the time in 2007.
Known as the Chinon parchment, it detailed how Pope Clement V found the Knights Templar
to be not guilty of heresy, but guilty of lesser infractions of Church law.
This was what led to him disbanding the order, but this didn’t stop King Philip IV of France
from burning a number of the Knights at the stake- an act thought to have been carried
out because he owed them vast sums for enlisting their services.
What other classified documents does the Vatican hold??!!
1.
The Stargate Project
In early 2017, the CIA released millions of previously secret documents.
One of the most interesting projects was known as Project Stargate, and it was their mass
scale attempt at harnessing supernatural powers.
Like the stuff of sci-fi movies, they investigated psychic abilities such as remote viewing,
telekinesis, and any other powers the human mind might possess.
The project started in 1978 and, perhaps most interestingly, those that oversaw it believed
that they had some level of success in harnessing people’s abilities to perceive, communicate,
or change characteristics of things at a distance.
This would explain why it ran all the way through until 1995, when it was forced to
close down after details had become public.
It’s not clear to this day, though, whether discoveries made as part of this project were
actually used in combat, but information gathered through remote viewing helped to inform decisions
that were made.
They might say more, but as you know, then they would have to kill you.
Thanks for watching!
Remember to subscribe and hit the notification bell for more videos!
Byee and see you soon!