Declassified CIA Report Confirms Area 51 and Weather-Balloon Cover Stories in Cold War Reconnaissance
To the point
A CIA declassified 355-page document confirms Area 51 exists and shows it was a top-secret Cold War aircraft testing facility, explains that weather balloon cover stories were used to conceal high-altitude U‑2 flights and that UFO reports increased from dawn or dusk reflections, outlines Project Blue Book’s role in identifying civilian sightings tied to those flights and notes that not all cases were explained, mentions Eisenhower’s preference for using non‑US pilots for plausible deniability, and states that Jeffrey T. Richelson obtained the release via FOIA in 2005 with redactions.
