Stories of black helicopters first appeared in the 1970s, and were linked to reports of cattle mutilation.[3][4]
Jim Keith wrote two books on the subject: Black Helicopters Over America: Strikeforce for the New World Order (1995), and Black Helicopters II: The End Game Strategy (1998).
Media attention to black helicopters increased in February 1995, when first-term Republican northern Idaho Representative Helen Chenoweth charged that armed federal agents were landing black helicopters on Idaho ranchers' property to enforce the Endangered Species Act. "I have never seen them", Chenoweth said in an interview in The 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. The John Birch Society originally promoted it, asserting that a United 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]
The following organizations and government agencies are known to operate black and/or unmarked helicopters in the United States for unclassified uses:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection operates a dozen black-and-gold UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.[8]
The U.S. Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment uses helicopters primarily painted black and other U.S. military branches operate helicopters painted in black or dark colors, particularly the Sikorsky MH-53, which was optimized for long-range stealthy insertion and extraction of personnel, including combat search and rescue. The U.S. Army regularly conducts both exercises and operational missions in American airspace. Some of these exercises have taken place in densely populated cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, San Francisco, New Orleans,[9] Chicago,[10] and Washington, D.C. Most operational missions are tasked with narcotics interdiction in the American Southwest and out of Florida and Puerto Rico. By extensive use of IR, radar, GPS and night 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.
In the early 1970s, Air America (a former dummy corporation airline covertly operated on behalf of the CIA under the cover of a private commercial venture) conducted test flights of two highly modified black Hughes OH-6 Cayuse helicopters at Culver City, California.[11] After the mission assigned to it had been completed, one helicopter was transferred to the ownership of the Pacific Corporation of Washington, D.C.[11] The second helicopter currently flies for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office in Washington State.[better source needed][12]
Many defense 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]
Many U.S. law enforcement agencies use black helicopters for surveillance, transportation, and patrol. Some of the agencies that use them are Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[13]