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Area 51 (Groom Lake) and secret 'black' aircraft programs
site chosen 1955 for U-2 tests; officially acknowledged 2013· Arms maker, factory or program· Technology, codes & intelligence
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
A secret US test base at Nevada's Groom Lake, where spy planes and stealth jets flew long before the public knew they existed.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
In 1955 a CIA and Lockheed team picked a dry lakebed at Groom Lake, Nevada, beside the nuclear test range, to fly the U-2 away from prying eyes. The base grew into the home of 'black' programs, projects funded through classified budgets: the A-12 Oxcart, the Have Blue and F-117 stealth prototypes, and acquired Soviet MiGs studied for dogfight training. The US government did not officially acknowledge the site until a declassified CIA history was released in 2013.
Why it matters
It let the US test radical aircraft in secret for decades, keeping surprises such as stealth hidden until they were ready for war.
Think of it like
Like a fenced construction lot with no sign: work goes on for years, and the neighbors see only odd lights and hear rumors.
How we know
The CIA's declassified U-2 history, released in 2013 after a Freedom of Information request by George Washington University's National Security Archive, plus Lockheed records, pilot memoirs and satellite images.
Still debated
What is tested there today is classified. The CIA history says many 1950s–60s UFO reports were really U-2 and A-12 flights; other legends remain just that.
Connections (4)
▸Area 51 (Groom Lake) and secret 'black' aircraft programs was chosen in 1955 to test the U-2 spy planeWell documented
The connection
The CIA needed a hidden place to test its new spy plane. In April 1955 a Lockheed and CIA team flew over the Nevada desert and picked the flat dry bed of Groom Lake, beside the atomic test site, where airspace was already restricted. The first U-2 flew there that August.
When and how
Groom Lake, Nevada, April–August 1955; Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier, designer Kelly Johnson and the CIA's Richard Bissell.
How we know
The CIA's declassified history of the U-2 program, released in full in 2013, describes how the site was chosen.
Debates and open questions
The site's later history is still largely classified; the CIA says many local UFO reports of the era were really U-2 test flights.
▸Lockheed Skunk Works flew its secret prototypes at Area 51 (Groom Lake) and secret 'black' aircraft programsWell documented
The connection
Needing a hidden place to test the U-2, Skunk Works test pilot Tony LeVier helped pick a dry lakebed at Groom Lake, Nevada, in 1955. Kelly Johnson nicknamed it 'Paradise Ranch' to lure workers. The A-12, Have Blue and F-117 later flew there, and sightings of them fed UFO rumors.
When and how
Groom Lake, Nevada, from 1955; the CIA, the Air Force and Lockheed's Skunk Works.
How we know
CIA histories declassified in 2013 officially acknowledged the site; a 1997 CIA study linked many 1950s–60s UFO reports to its spy planes.
Debates and open questions
What is tested there now remains classified, and UFO beliefs about the base persist despite the official explanations.
▸Area 51 (Groom Lake) and secret 'black' aircraft programs secretly flight-tested the prototypes of Stealth aircraft (F-117 Nighthawk)Well documented
The connection
Stealth prototypes needed secrecy and room to test against radar. Have Blue flew at Groom Lake from December 1977, and the first F-117 flew there in June 1981, before the operational fleet moved to Nevada's Tonopah range and flew only at night until 1988.
When and how
Groom Lake and Tonopah Test Range, Nevada, 1977–88; Lockheed test pilots included Bill Park (Have Blue) and Hal Farley (F-117).
How we know
Declassified Air Force histories and Lockheed accounts record the test flights and their location.
Debates and open questions
Which newer aircraft and drones are tested there today is classified.
▸Area 51 (Groom Lake) and secret 'black' aircraft programs tested the A-12, forerunner of the SR-71 BlackbirdWell documented
The connection
The CIA's single-seat A-12 Oxcart, the direct forerunner of the SR-71, first flew at Groom Lake in April 1962. The base was greatly expanded for it, with a longer runway, hangars and housing. The SR-71 itself was later tested at Palmdale and Edwards in California.
When and how
Groom Lake, Nevada, 1960–68; the A-12's first flight in April 1962 was made by Lockheed test pilot Lou Schalk.
How we know
The CIA's declassified Oxcart histories and period photographs document the A-12's testing at the base.
Debates and open questions
How many black-program aircraft the base has hosted, and what flies there now, remains classified.