Several references are made by recently declassified CIA

records to the surveillance plane testing site.

The ET highway runs across the eastern boundary of Area 51. Its existence is being
acknowledged by the CIA in just declassified documents.
By Allie Bidwell Aug. 16, 2013, at 10:58 a.m. More
Though its existence was denied by government officials for a number of decades, the CIA
has confirmed in records that were recently released that Area 51 is actual.
While it does not make any references to conspiracy theories and paranormal activity reports
usually associated with the scheme near the Mojave Desert, the CIA admits its existence
several times in newly declassified documents on the history of the u 2 and OXCART spy
plane programs. The files were obtained by the National Security Archive of George
Washington University through a public records request.
The more than 400-page history describes how Area 51 was used as the base for the spy
planes, which ran surveillance around the world following World War II, particularly in the
Soviet Union during the Cold War.
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Jeffrey Richelson, National Security Archive senior fellow, read through the history in 2002,
but all mentions of Area 51 was redacted, USA Today reported.
Richelson made another request in 2005, which the agency reacted to a few weeks ago with
a significantly less redacted version. Richelson told USA Today this can be a sign the CIA is
becoming less secret about Area 51 and what goes on within its borders.
The history is, in addition, significant in that it releases other formerly classified information,
like the names of aviators, code names, places and financing organizations associated with
the U-2 plan.
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The report states that then-President Dwight Eisenhower wanted pilots flying the U2
airplanes to be non-U.S. citizens to protect privacy of the operations.
"It was his belief that, should a u 2 come down in hostile territory, it will be much easier for
the United States to deny any responsibility for the task when the pilot wasn't an American,"
the report says.
Though Area 51 is not the government's best kept secret (it has been referenced in other
government records and shows up in books on aerial surveillance) these documents would
be the first that admit its existence and given details about its operations, CNN reported.
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But the records do give some explanation to reports of UFOs in the area after the authorities

started analyzing the U-2 airplanes.

The military started examining the airplanes at high elevations in competent to run
reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union, with the belief that radars wouldn't have the
capacity to detect aircraft flying above 65,000 feet. Most airplanes at the time flew at altitudes
between 10,000 and 20,000 feet, and even military aircraft flew below 40,000 feet.
"High-altitude testing of the U2 shortly caused an unexpected side effect - a huge rise in the
reports of unidentified flying objects," the report says. "Only at that time, no one believed
manned flight was possible above 60,000 feet, so no one expected to see an item so high in
the skies."
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These reports, individuals on the floor and both from air traffic controllers, led to the Air
Force's Operation Blue Book, in which officials tried to explain the sightings by linking them.
Air Force officials additionally assessed reported UFO sightings against U2 flight logs.
"u 2 and later OXCART flights accounted for more than one-half of all UFO reports during the
late 1950s and the majority of the 1960s," the report says.
Recently declassified CIA files make several references to the surveillance airplane testing
website.
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