There are many legends around the American Air Force Base Zone-51. Ufologists all over the world are sure that aliens are being studied there. Locals periodically see planes of strange shapes, which are mistaken for UFOs. Particularly meticulous researchers sometimes spot Russian fighters over the base. The CIA not so long ago opened the veil of secrecy over this place, recognizing the existence of the base. Using open data, 42. TUT. BY selected five of the most secret projects, on which the specialists of "Zone 51" worked.
U-2
This aircraft was created specifically for observing the territory of the Soviet Union by order of the CIA. The American military hoped that the U-2 with a working ceiling of 21 km would be inaccessible to enemy air defense systems. For a long time, the Kremlin did not even know about the existence of this aircraft. The first production copies were built in 1955. A year later, they entered the special detachment 10/10, based in Turkey at Incirlik airbase.
For a spy plane pilot, the 8-hour flight in the stratosphere at 20,000 meters was very difficult. The feeling of loneliness oppressed, it was impossible to eat and drink. In case of an emergency - landing on enemy territory - U-2 pilots were supplied with watches, jewelry and other items necessary for settlements with the local population.
However, they were not destined to take advantage of all this in the event of an aircraft hitting - an explosive device was mounted in the ejection seat.
The pilot of the shot down U-2, Francis Powers, who was warned by a technician about the infernal machine under his seat before taking off, told about this to Soviet scouts. When his plane was shot down in 1960, Powers left the cockpit without the aid of a catapult and manually opened his parachute in free fall.
Promotional video:
Archangel Project
The best specialists from Skunk Works, the secret branch of Lockheed, worked on the development of this aircraft. The designers came to the conclusion that the best protection against Soviet missiles is super speed and super maneuverability. According to the project, the maximum speed of the new scout was 3.2 Mach numbers, and the ceiling was 33,528 meters. The flight was presented by engineers as a series of giant leaps from the denser layers of the atmosphere to the less dense ones.
In the process of working on the "Archangel", aka A-12, the designers had to ensure the stable operation of the fuel and hydraulic systems at high temperatures. For example, work on the glazing of the cockpit canopy took three years and cost two million dollars.
Work on the project was sharply spurred by the Cuban Missile Crisis when Major Anderson's U-2 was shot down over Cuba. As a result, the Archangel, capable of reaching a speed of Mach 3, took off on July 20, 1963.
In mid-1963, five A-12s were already flying, but the military and politicians were afraid to use them for their intended purpose - for reconnaissance over the territory of the USSR. They only happened to be on a combat mission in 1967.
Then 22 sorties were made from the base in Okinawa for reconnaissance of objects in North Vietnam. Also, the Archangels took part in the search for the American ship Pueblo captured by the North Koreans.
By the time the Archangel took its wing, the Americans had more effective means of reconnaissance - satellites. The developments on the A-12 were used to create another reconnaissance aircraft - the SR-71 Blackbird.
SR-91 Aurora
The first mentions of this project date back to the spring of 1990: Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine wrote that in 1985 the Pentagon spent $ 145 million on a secret project.
Supposed appearance of SR-91.
And in 1987 this amount was already two billion. The existence of this aircraft is still denied at the Pentagon. However, the existence of "Area 51" itself has long been denied.
SR-91 had a total length of about 34-35 m, the wingspan was in the range of 18-20 m. According to various sources, the maximum speed of the aircraft was 10-15 times the speed of sound. The ceiling exceeded 35-36 km. Initially, the crew consisted of two people, but an unmanned version could also be created.
F-117 Night Hawk
In the sky, this plane resembles a flying triangle, it is not seen by radars, and it is also black. Why not a UFO? To make it so angular, but flying, the designers had to violate all possible laws of aircraft construction and aerodynamics, spending $ 6.56 billion so that the F-117 Night Hawk could at least fly.
By the way, aerodynamics specialist Dick Cantrell, looking at the plane's drawing, said: "I don't care what it looks like, I'll take this freak into the air!" The pilots also praised the aircraft's "outstanding" flight characteristics and called it the "Wobblin 'Goblin".
But the F-117 Night Hawk is invisible on radars: the effective scattering surface (EPR) of the aircraft when it was irradiated with a radar, according to some sources, ranged from 0.01 to 0.0025 m², depending on the angle.
B-21 Raider
Especially for this bomber on the territory of "Zone-51" were built
new U-shaped taxiway, runway and large hangar. The experimental B-21 strategic bomber is similar in size to the B2 Spirit.
Lauren Thomson, senior military analyst at the University of Lexington and Pentagon adviser, explained this by saying that the new aircraft retains all the advantages of the B-2 Spirit and eliminates all its shortcomings.
This aircraft is built using advanced stealth technology and is expected to be priced at just $ 550 million per unit.
Denis Aldokhin