Area 51 Spy Plane Revealed

51號區(qū)間諜飛機曝光

Suspended upside down, a titanium A-12 spy-plane prototype is prepped for radar testing at Area 51 in the late 1950s.

上世紀50年代晚期，神秘的美國51號區(qū)，一架鈦材料A-12間諜飛機原型機準備接受雷達測試。

After a rash of declassifications, details of Cold War workings at the Nevada base, which to this day does not officially exist, are coming to light—including images of an A-12 crash and its cover-up pictured publicly for the first time in May.

經(jīng)過一系列解密之后，內(nèi)華達基地51號區(qū)在冷戰(zhàn)期間的諸多細節(jié)最終大白于天下，其中包括5月公布的A-12偵察機墜機以及有關(guān)掩蓋墜機事故真相的照片。這些照片此前從未對外公開過。

Nearly undetectable to radar, the A-12 could fly at 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometers) an hour—fast enough to cross the continental U.S. in 70 minutes. From 90,000 feet (27,400 meters), the plane's cameras could capture foot-long (0.3-meter-long) objects on the ground below. But pushing the limits came with risks—and led to the catastrophic 1963 crash of an A-12 based out of Area 51.

雷達幾乎無法探測到A-12，其時速可達到2200英里(每小時3540公里)，足以在70分鐘內(nèi)橫跨美國大陸。這種間諜飛機能夠在9萬英尺(2.74萬米)的高度拍攝到地面上只有1英尺(30厘米)長的物體。但提升性能極限也不可避免地帶來風(fēng)險，1963年，一架A-12間諜飛機在51號區(qū)附近墜毀。