THE United States Air Force has warned it “stands ready” to defend Area 51 as the number of people planning to attend a raid on the base surpasses one million.
The organisation was responding to a tongue-in-cheek Facebook event entitled “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” planned for September 20.
Organisers of the event want to rally extraterrestrial enthusiasts to meet in the Nevada desert before trying to enter and explore the base.
The page’s description reads: “We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry.
“If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens.”
The word naruto is a reference to an anime cartoon about a ninja with a fast, distinctive run.
US Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews told the Washington Post on Friday that officials were aware of the event.
She said she couldn’t elaborate on what procedures the base has in place to respond to trespassers, but did discourage those considering attempting a breach.
“[Area 51] is an open training range for the U.S. Air Force, and we would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces,” she said.
“The U.S. Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets.”
AREA 51 is a highly classified US air base in the remote Nevada desert.
It is officially known as Homey Airport, but gained its now famous name from CIA documents that referred to it by the codename Area 51.
The exact purpose of the air base is not known publicly, and the area is heavily restricted.
Trespassers can face huge fines and lengthy prison sentences for setting foot in the zone.
Purchased by the US government in 1955, evidence suggests the site is used as a testing area for experimental aircraft and weapons.
But the secrecy surrounding it has led conspiracy theorists to suggest the area is holding extra-terrestrial secrets.
Theories suggest engineers examine crashed spacecrafts — and even hold meetings with aliens from across the galaxy.
The crash of a weather balloon at Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 sparked wild theories of an alien ship crash.
Some have suggested Area 51 is still storing parts of the crashed ship — or even its alien inhabitants.
Area 51 is a 5,000-square-mile detachment that has been operational for more than 60 years and is officially part of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR).
It is famously secretive and heavily guarded, but that doesn’t seem to have dampened the spirits of the events attendees.
One user posted an image of Simon Pegg with his alien companion in the 2011 sci-fi film Paul, with a caption: “Me speeding out of area 51 with my brand new alien sidekick”.
Another posted a still of the title character from Steven Spielberg’s E.T. riding a flying bike, with text reading: “Me and The Homies Escaping Area51”.
Following McAndrews’s statement, Jackson Barnes, one of the event’s organisers, posted: “P.S. Hello U.S. government, this is a joke, and I do not actually intend to go ahead with this plan.
“I just thought it would be funny and get me some thumbsy uppies on the Internet.
“I’m not responsible if people decide to actually storm area 51.”
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