美国政府从未官方确认存在所谓第51区。然而正如安妮?雅各布森为撰写她的新书所作的调查所揭示的那样，冷战间谍机（包括U-2）正是在该基地研发的。通过阅读揭秘文件和采访51区人员，雅各布森最终使真相渐渐浮出水面。“在我的报道中，我采访了74名相关人员，其中32人曾长期居住或供职于第51区，”雅各布森说。

　　"In many previously classified documents relating to activities at the base, the words 'Area 51' are conveniently blacked out," Jacobsen said. "There's always a euphemism for it -- like 'the test facility' or 'the base' -- but never Area 51."

　　“在很多与该基地活动相关的、之前被列为机密的文件中，‘51区’一词悉数被涂黑，”雅各布森说。“总有一些模棱两可的暗指——比如‘测试设备’或者‘基地’——但就是没有‘第51区’。”

　　While conspiracy theorists and UFO devotees have long claimed -- and hoped-- that captured alien spacecraft are housed at the base, Jacobsen claims the secret craft were actually reverse-engineered from a captured Soviet MiG fighter jet. The A-12 Oxcart, a Mach 3 spy plane, was also reportedly developed at Area 51.

　　尽管阴谋论者和飞碟爱好者一直以来都宣称——并且希冀——截获的飞碟和俘获的外星人就被关押在该区域，雅各布森称，秘密飞行器实际上是对截获的前苏联的米格喷气式战斗机的反向工程研究。A-12复仇者战斗机, 一种速度能达到3马赫的侦查飞机也研发于该区。

　　Area 51 is an actual military base, located on the shore of a salt flat called Groom Lake, about 80 miles north of Las Vegas.

　　第51区的确是一个军事基地，位于拉斯维加斯以北的湖岸。

　　It shouldn't surprise anyone that there's a top secret base out in the middle of the Nevada desert. After all, advanced military hardware has to be tested somewhere -- why not there?

　　内华达沙漠中部有一个这样的军事基地其实并不奇怪。毕竟，先进的军事装备需要找一个地方进行测试——干嘛不就放在那个地方？

　　And it also makes sense that a place like Area 51 would be kept secret, rimmed by severe warning signs to any and all trespassers who attempt to get a closer look at what's being tested in the skies above the base. From a distance, some stealth bomber technology could have been easily taken for UFOs by curiosity seekers.