UFO devotees headed to Nevada, and maybe 'Area 51'

The US Navy has confirmed that three recently released videos show "unidentified aerial phenomena", as UFO aficionados plan to descend on Rachel, Nevada, this weekend — with some planning to storm Area 51, a secret government research and development site believed by some to house alien spacecraft.

The web page for the high desert town, elevation 4,970 feet (1,515 meters), advises visitors, "The nearest gas station or store is 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) south in Ash Springs or 110 miles (177 kilometers) north in Tonopah." It notes, "Population: Humans 54. Aliens??"

Discussion of UFOs has been a staple of late-night talk radio and fodder for volunteer groups such as the Mutual UFO Network and National UFO Reporting Center. The Navy's videos are likely to heighten the mystery.

The Navy says it doesn't know what the objects are. All the videos were taken from Navy ships. One video from 2004 and two videos from 2015 show incursions into military training areas.

The Black Vault, a website dedicated to "exposing government secrets one page at a time", first reported the Navy's "unidentified aerial phenomena" designation. The videos are known as "FLIR1", "Gimbal" and "GoFast''. The first video was taken off the California coast, and the others were taken off the Virginia coast.

The first video shows an oblong object that quickly accelerates out of view. The second includes a crew member saying, "Look at that thing!" The third shows an object that appears over the water, and a sailor using salty language asks, "What is that, man?"

The first video was posted online by a crew member in 2007, but the Navy didn't discover it until 2009 and took no disciplinary action. The Navy said it had "no information" on how the second and third videos were released.

In 2017, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program had investigated UFO reports for years, but the program was shut down in 2012. Some UFO enthusiasts see this as part of an ongoing effort to mislead the public.

Many UFO proponents believe Area 51 contains flying saucers that have crashed and are being reverse engineered. Security is tight around Area 51. Signs posted on the perimeter read, "Restricted Area/No Trespassing/Beyond This Point" and "Photography Prohibited".

It's unclear what goes on at Area 51, but as some prior media reports have suggested, it may be something as prosaic as developing radar-evading stealth aircraft.

The organizer who planned "Alienstock" — the storming of Area 51 — has pulled out and advised others to stay away because it's not safe.

Some apparently didn't get the word because the only motel in Rachel, the six-unit Little A'le'Inn, appears to be booked.

"Super-busy now. Can't talk," a woman who answered the phone said before slamming the receiver down.

Route 375 through the Nevada desert is known as the "Extraterrestrial Highway" and says so on the road signs. Officials have taken the signs down because if the Little Green Men from a faraway galaxy don't steal them, the souvenir hunters might.