The Aurora legend started in 1985, when the
Los Angeles Times and later
Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine broke the news that the term "Aurora" had been inadvertently included in the 1985 U.S. budget, as a requested allocation of $2.3 billion for "black aircraft production" in
FY 1987. According to
Aviation Week,
Project Aurora referred to a group of exotic aircraft, and not to one particular
airframe.
