Stories of black helicopters first appeared in the 1970s, and were linked to reports ofcattle mutilation.[3][4]
Jim Keith wrote two books on the subject:Black Helicopters Over America: Strikeforce for the New World Order (1995), andBlack Helicopters II: The End Game Strategy (1998).
Media attention to black helicopters increased in February 1995, when first-termRepublicannorthern IdahoRepresentativeHelen Chenoweth charged that armed federal agents were landing black helicopters on Idaho ranchers' property to enforce theEndangered Species Act. "I have never seen them", Chenoweth said in an interview inThe New York Times. "But enough people in my district have become concerned that I can't just ignore it. We do have some proof."[5]
The black helicopters conjecture resonates well with the belief held by some in the militia movement that troops from the United Nations might invade the United States. TheJohn Birch Society originally promoted it, asserting that aUnited Nations force would soon arrive in black helicopters to bring the US under UN control.[6] A similar theory concerning so-called "phantom helicopters" appeared in the UK in the 1970s.[7]
TheU.S. Army's160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment uses helicopters primarily painted black and otherU.S. military branches operate helicopters painted in black or dark colors, particularly theSikorsky MH-53, which was optimized for long-range stealthy insertion and extraction of personnel, includingcombat search and rescue. The U.S. Army regularly conducts both exercises and operational missions in Americanairspace. Some of these exercises have taken place in densely populated cities, including Los Angeles, New York,Detroit,San Francisco,New Orleans,[9]Chicago,[10] andWashington, D.C. Most operational missions are tasked with narcotics interdiction in theAmerican Southwest and out of Florida andPuerto Rico. By extensive use of IR, radar,GPS andnight vision devices, as well as other classified means, they are able to fly in zero visibility conditions with no running lights.[citation needed] Their frequent use results in frequent sightings by concerned members of the public.
Manydefense contractors and helicopter manufacturers also conduct public flight testing of aircraft and components or fly aircraft in public view to test ranges or other corporate airfields for training or demonstrations. Occasionally, some of these aircraft will be made for military clients and are painted in black or dark colors.[citation needed]
The term has also been used to ridicule other conspiracy theories or conspiracy theorists:
In 2007, aSlate article on the2007 NBA betting scandal said, "In the wake of this scandal, every game will be in question, and not only by fans disposed to seeing black helicopters outside the arena."[14]
In 2013,Vice PresidentJoe Biden used the term in a speech responding to theNational Rifle Association of America during the White House campaign for background checks on all gun purchasers, saying, "The black helicopter crowd is really upset. It's kind of scary, man."[15]
In 2018, theUnited States Department of Homeland Security proposed a database to monitor the activities of journalists, bloggers and other “media influencers". In response to concerns, DHS's spokesman said, "Despite what some reporters may suggest, this is nothing more than the standard practice of monitoring current events in the media. Any suggestion otherwise is fit fortin foil hat-wearing, black helicopter conspiracy theorists."[16]
In 2020,Governor of FloridaRon DeSantis, in a public appearance withU.S. Vice PresidentMike Pence, pushed back on critics of his administration in its handling of theCOVID-19 pandemic, saying, "We succeeded, and I think that people just don't want to recognize it, because it challenges their narrative, it challenges their assumption, so they got to try to find a boogeyman – maybe it's that there are black helicopters circling the Department of Health. If you believe that, um,I got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you."[17][18]
InCapricorn One, astronauts Robert Caulfield and Charles Brubaker escape from a U.S. government facility after being forced to fake a Mars landing, and are pursued by a pair of black OH-6 Cayuse helicopters.[19]
InEscape from New York, the United States is portrayed as a completepolice state by 1997. The United States Police Force (USPF) uses black helicopters to patrol the border walls ofManhattan island, now a prisonpenal colony. The USPF is also shown using the helicopters to performextractions,surveillance, and to kill inmates attempting to escape. In its sequel,Escape from L.A., the USPF helicopters are more futuristic in form and function withfolding rotors that retract into the top after landing.
InBlue Thunder, the protagonist, police helicopter pilot Frank Murphy, uncovers a conspiracy to stir up riots in urban ghettos as a pretext for declaring anational emergency in order to establish a dictatorship, using black helicopters to subdue the population.
Airwolf revolves around an advanced black-colored helicopter used by "The Firm" to conduct espionage missions both abroad and within the United States.
InAmerika, a television miniseries in which theSoviet Union has taken over the United States, black helicopters are used to intimidate and subdue the American population. Additionally, the invasion of the United States is conducted under the pretext of a United Nations peacekeeping mission using said helicopters.
InThe X-Files, unmarked black helicopters also play a key role in the finale episodes of season two and nine, involving theCigarette Smoking Man. In the filmThe X-Files: Fight the Future, black helicopters pursueFox Mulder andDana Scully after they uncover a conspiracy to use bees to carry an extraterrestrial virus. The TV series'soundtrack album included a song, "Unmarked Helicopters", centered on the concept.
InKing of the Hill, conspiracy theorist Dale Gribble discuss "stealth helicopters with computerized noise-canceling capability".[20]
InConspiracy Theory, the protagonist, conspiracy theorist Jerry Fletcher, describes silent black military helicopters to an empty cab (not realizing his fare already left). Fletcher is later pursued by individuals who rappel down from such a helicopter.
In theSouth Park series premiere "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", farmer Bill Denkins tells Officer Barbrady that there have been recent sightings of UFOs and black helicopters. Barbrady dismisses his concerns, but black helicopters fly behind him, which he dismisses as pigeons flying.
InDeus Ex, the protagonist, JC Denton, uses a black helicopter as a primary means of transport. The series itself is strongly inspired by conspiracy theories such as black helicopters, and references them frequently.
InThe Secret World, black helicopters with red-tinted canopies owned by the Orochi Group appear at multiple points in the game, most notably in the Kingsmouth Town area, which includes a quest called "Black Helicopters".
"Weird Al" Yankovic mentions "black helicopters coming 'cross the border" in his song "Foil" (a parody ofLorde's song "Royals"), which starts as an advertisement foraluminum foil and devolves into a conspiracy rant.
InGrand Theft Auto IV, the Annihilator helicopter—used by the Liberty City Police Department and the National Office of Security Enforcement (NOOSE)—is a black, heavily armed aircraft modelled after theSikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. The vehicle serves asGTA IV's primary attack helicopter and a spiritual successor to the Raindance fromGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas, reflecting recurring themes of state power and surveillance in the series.
InGrand Theft Auto Online, during an "Operation Paper Trail" storyline mission where the player flies a black-painted helicopter, Agent ULP of the International Affairs Agency (IAA; theGrand Theft Auto universe's satirical CIA equivalent) fondly recalls flying black helicopters early in his career—not as part of any conspiracies, but to draw conspiracy theorists away from actual IAA conspiracies.
Media related toblack helicopters at Wikimedia Commons