FOR YOUR EYES ONLY: AURORA

The Mach-8 strategic reconnaissance aircraft code-named Aurora is aviation's equivalent of a unicorn. There's no real documented evidence of its existence, but there are lots of other animals with a single horn sticking out of their heads, including narwhals, so how implausible is it that there's a horse with a horn running around somewhere?

Then there's this: The plane Aurora is rumored to have succeeded, the Mach-3 Blackbird, remained secret for years after its first flight, and it's retired now. Why wouldn't the Pentagon have had a successor for it? Government officials have been steadfast in their denial of Aurora's existence, but what reason do they have to give up our national security secrets? And since when do you get your truth from politicians?

Below you'll find a brief slideshow of Aurora photos that are legitimate—according to the Internet—and a documentary. What do you think? Tell me in the form below. I don't need to know the truth, but, well, I'm curious. A truly legit photo gets you a free signed copy of my book Once a Spy (which features an actual secret Blackbird interceptor variant that readers criticize me for imagining, but I'm telling you, there was this legit-looking video on YouTube that was taken down, probably by the CIA…).

keith thomsonComment