Six Top-Secret Aircraft Mistaken for UFOs

By Phil Patton

Spy and stealth planes — some with bizarre, bat-shaped wings, others with triangular silhouettes that imply otherworldly designs — have long generated UFO sightings and lore. And official denials feed rumors that the government isn't telling us about alien ships.
The CIA estimates that over half of the UFOs reported from the 1950s through the 1960s were U-2 and SR-71 spy planes. At the time, the Air Force misled the public and the media to protect these Cold War programs; it's possible the government's responses to current sightings of classified craft — whether manned or remotely operated — are equally evasive.The result is an ongoing source of UFO reports and conspiracy theories.

Here are the Earth-built craft that likely have lit up 911 switchboards over the years.

1. RQ-3 Darkstar

Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin/Boeing
First Test Flight: 1996
Deployment: None (it was cancelled in 1999)
Declassified: 1995
Size: 15 ft long; 69-ft wingspan
Performance: 288 mph (cruising speed); 45,000+ ft (max. alt.)

UFO Link: The official life span of this unmanned spy plane was brief and disappointing, with a crash and a program cancellation after just three years. But in 2003, Aviation Week reported that a similar stealth UAV was being used in Iraq — fueling speculation that the government scrapped the craft publicly only to secretly resurrect it for clandestine missions.

2. U-2

Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin
First Test Flight: 1955
Deployment: 1957 to present
Declassified: 1960
Size: 49 ft long; 80-ft wingspan
Performance: 410 mph (max. speed); 85,000 ft (max. alt.)

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UFO Link: Designed for high-altitude reconnaissance, the U-2's long, gliderlike wings and silver color would have been notable to observers on the ground and in the sky. In the 1960s the airplane was painted black to avoid reflections. The U-2 is also famous for being among the first classified planes to be flown from the Air Force's secret test facility at Groom Lake, Nev. — aka Area 51.

3. SR-71 Blackbird

Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin
First Test Flight: 1964
Deployment: 1966 to 1990, 1995 to 1998
Declassified: 1964
Size: 107 ft long; 56-ft wingspan
Performance: 2432 mph (max. speed); 85,000 ft (max. alt.)

UFO Link: The tailless spy plane has an even more unusual cross section than the U-2. This Area 51 alum was briefly reactivated in the 1990s, and rumors of a follow-up — the now-legendary Aurora project — have supplied both UFO believers and skeptics with a possible source of unexplained sightings.

4. P-791

Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin
First Test Flight: 2006
Deployment: Unknown

UFO Link: Plane spotters' photos and videos blew the top-secret cover off a 5-minute inaugural flight in Palmdale, Calif. The hybrid airship — it uses gas and a wing shape for lift — fuels speculation that classified airships quietly roam the night skies.

5. F-117A Nighthawk

Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin
First Test Flight: 1981
Deployment: 1983 to 2008
Declassified: 1988
Size: 107 ft long; 56-ft wingspan

UFO Link: This long-range stealth fighter, which could stay aloft indefinitely thanks to midair refueling, remained classified through much of the 1980s during test flights at Tonopah Test Field Range in Nevada, 80 miles from the legendary Area 51 Groom Lake facility. Along with the B-2 Spirit, the batlike F-117A was a perfect candidate for triangular UFO sightings.

6. B-2 Spirit

Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
First Test Flight: 1989
Deployment: 1997 to present
Declassified: 1988
Size: 69 ft long; 172-ft wingspan

UFO Link: Although the long-range bomber was never a true "black aircraft," since it was displayed to the public approximately eight months before its first flight, an airborne B-2 is a UFO report waiting to happen. It looks like an alien craft from nearly any angle and specifically like a flying saucer when viewed head-on or in profile.

Canadian Black Triangle Sighting

This sighting report was submitted to The WHY? Files some months ago but for external reasons we have been unable to publish it until now.

Dartmouth Nova Scotia in relationship to Halifax... Click the map for larger view.

Hello!

Sorry it has taken so long for me to reply, but here it is.

In late July 2001 I was travelling NW, alone, along the number 7 highway going from Dartmouth NS to Lower Sackville at around 12:30am. When I hit a high point I noticed a really bright light in the distance, it was summer and warm and an extraordinary clear night.

Initially I thought that it was a tower with a light on it but then determined that there is no tower in that area. As I got closer I noticed that it was not moving. I transferred onto highway 101 still travelling NW and hit a straight away. I could see a black shape hovering above the highway.

As I got closer I could tell that it was not moving at all and about 40 feet up. Slowing my vehicle I turned off my music and rolled down my window. I drove right under the object and could see that it was black and triangular in shape with a very bright but soft white light in the center. I could look directly at the light and it didn't hurt my eyes.

As I looked up through my front windshield the craft blocked any view of the night sky. There was a small rectangular red light on one side of the large white light and a blue light on the other. There was also a smaller white light on one of the corners. It appeared to be quite flat. When I passed under I stuck my head out the window and did not hear any noise at all. I could see the seams where the metal was fused together.

After I passed under the object I pulled over to the side of the road and jumped out of my car. I estimate that this took no longer than 2 minutes tops. To my shock, the triangle was gone and I could see it flying some distance away, probably 5-7 km at least, travelling SW. unfortunately, I was alone and I did not see any other vehicles along the highway that night.

Hope this helps, that night has baffled me since it happened! I was glad to find your site and FINALLY a picture of what I had seen!

Cara