Place · Groom Lake, Nevada
Area 51
Also known as Groom Lake
Area 51 is a highly classified U.S. Air Force facility at Groom Lake in the Nevada desert, used since the 1950s to test secret aircraft such as the U-2 and later stealth designs. The CIA officially acknowledged it in 2013, when a declassified history of the U-2 programme was released under the Freedom of Information Act; the declassified record traces the U-2 (from 1955), the A-12 OXCART, captured Soviet MiGs and the F-117 to the site.
Its secrecy has made it the centre of UFO lore. The most famous claim is Bob Lazar's 1989 account, in interviews with George Knapp, of working on recovered alien craft at a nearby site called S-4; his account is unverified, and he is outside this archive's sourcing criteria as a witness.
In Congress, Rep. Jared Moskowitz has called for members to be allowed to visit Groom Lake, Rep. Tim Burchett has questioned witnesses about it, and the journalist George Knapp, testifying in 2025, discussed Lazar and a congressional investigator's visit to the base; those moments are linked below.
Sources: National Security Archive · Wikipedia · House Oversight hearings (2023–2025)
Facts and claims
- documented A CIA history of the U-2 spy-plane program, declassified in summer 2013 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, officially acknowledged the Groom Lake test site known as Area 51. The National Security Archive published it with more than 60 related declassified documents. Source: nsarchive.gwu.edu (archived)
- documented According to the declassified record, the site was chosen for U-2 testing in 1955 (officials surveyed Nevada on April 12, 1955), the first A-12 OXCART arrived in late December 1961, Soviet MiGs were tested there from 1968 (HAVE DOUGHNUT, HAVE DRILL, HAVE FERRY), and the F-117 made its first flight, presumably there, in June 1981. Source: nsarchive.gwu.edu (archived)
Connected files
Books
- Dreamland: An Autobiography (subject of)
- UFOs, Area 51, and Government Informants (subject of)
Claims
- Recovered alien craft were studied at Area 51, at a site called S-4 near Groom Lake in Nevada (subject of)
Concepts
- Government UFO disinformation (example of) — An Air Force colonel reportedly gave doctored saucer photos to a bar owner near Area 51 to shield stealth tests
Documents
- CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947–90 (Gerald K. Haines, Studies in Intelligence, 1997) (related to)
Documentaries
- Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers (subject of)
- S4: The Bob Lazar Story (subject of)
News
- WSJ: Pentagon disinformation fueled UFO myths, from doctored Area 51 photos to a fake “Yankee Blue” briefing (subject of)
People
- Bob Lazar (claims by) — He says he worked on recovered alien craft at S-4, a few miles south of Groom Lake; his account is unverified
- Harry Reid (investigator sent by) — Knapp says investigator Richard D'Amato, sent by Senators Byrd and Reid, got into Area 51
- James Clapper (comments by) — In The Age of Disclosure he says the activity over Area 51 is real
- Jeremy Corbell (film by) — He directed Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers (2018)
- Richard Doty (staff) — He says he served twice at Area 51 as a counterintelligence officer
Organizations
- Central Intelligence Agency (used by)
- Department of War (Department of Defense) (used by)
Places
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (named with) — Rep. Moskowitz said Congress should be allowed into Wright-Patterson, Dugway or Groom Lake
Videos
- UFO Cover-Up?: Live! (1988 television special) (discussed in)
- UFO Cover-Up Live with Larry King (CNN/TNT, 1994) (subject of)
- Col. Philip J. Corso: The Day After Roswell lecture “at the Ranch” (22 February 1998) (discussed in)
- Citizen Hearing 2013: A Global Phenomenon, Part 2 (discussed in)
- Citizen Hearing 2013: Science & Technology (discussed in)
- Citizen Hearing 2013: The Truth Embargo (discussed in)
- Citizen Hearing 2013: Truth, Lies & the Cover-up, Part 2 (discussed in)
- Rick Doty with George Knapp, part 4: the Bennewitz case and Area 51 (Mystery Wire, 2019 interview) (discussed in) — Doty says he served twice at Area 51 as a counterintelligence officer
- House holds hearing on UFOs, government transparency | full video (discussed in)
- Richard Doty on disinformation, Paul Bennewitz and Linda Moulton Howe (Rebelliously Curious with Chrissy Newton, The Debrief, February 2025) (discussed in) — Doty says he served at Kirtland and within the Nellis range, “which you would call Area 51”
- Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection (discussed in)
- James Clapper on the Air Force's program to track anomalous activity (The Age of Disclosure, clip) (discussed in)
- Trump on UFOs and Air Force pilots (Newsmax, Finnerty, 15 October 2026) (discussed in)
- Bob Lazar 1989 interview with George Knapp (subject of)
- Joe Rogan Experience #2314: Hal Puthoff (discussed in)
Mentioned in this file
- George Knapp (Person)
- Jared Moskowitz (Person)
- Tim Burchett (Person)
- House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Organization)
Mentioned in videos
- UFO Cover-Up Live with Larry King (CNN/TNT, 1994)
- Col. Philip J. Corso: The Day After Roswell lecture “at the Ranch” (22 February 1998)
- Citizen Hearing 2013: A Global Phenomenon, Part 2
- Citizen Hearing 2013: Opening statements (Mitchell, Hellyer)
- Citizen Hearing 2013: The Truth Embargo
- House holds hearing on UFOs, government transparency | full video
- Richard Doty on disinformation, Paul Bennewitz and Linda Moulton Howe (Rebelliously Curious with Chrissy Newton, The Debrief, February 2025)
- Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection
- Betty Hill: the “lost” 1999 interview (Portsmouth, NH)
- Bob Lazar 1989 interview with George Knapp
- NASA Doctor: “I Saw This UFO In A Secret Hangar!” (Ft. Greg Rogers)
Mentioned in documents and records
- Hearing transcript: Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection (Sept 9, 2025)
- Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection