Black helicopter conspiracy theory

Black helicopters are part of a conspiracy theory that claims that special "black" helicopters are used by secret agents of the New World Order, United Nations troops preparing to invade the United States of America, and/or the Men in Black. Parapsychologist John Keel has argued that this theory has similar origins to those regarding UFO's, ghosts and fairies; that they are part of modern mythology; in this case, representing a fear of the government and its technology.

Black helicopters without FAA-required running lights are regularly used by the drug interdiction office DEA. In addition, most US Army helicopters (such as the Black Hawk) are finished in a very dark chocolate or olive matt paint. With the progressive development of night vision goggles, the need for helicopters to be lit when moving as a planned formation has clearly reduced. NVGs are now available to the civilian market too.