Project CENTER LANE: The Army’s Secret Psychic Warfare Program You’ve Never Heard Of

While most people have heard whispers of the CIA’s STARGATE program or maybe GRILL FLAME, Project CENTER LANE is the forgotten middle child of America's psychic spy efforts—and that might be exactly how they wanted it.

So what was it?

CENTER LANE was the U.S. Army’s version of a psychic intelligence program, running roughly from 1983 to 1985. It didn’t just experiment with remote viewing like the others—it focused on operational intelligence. That means it wasn’t just testing psychic abilities in a lab; it was using them in real-world military missions.

Here’s how CENTER LANE stood out:

It was designed to gather battlefield intelligence through remote viewing—using trained soldiers to spy psychically on enemy operations.

Unlike GRILL FLAME (which was more experimental) and SUN STREAK (which leaned civilian/CIA), CENTER LANE was entirely Army-run, with stricter military structure and protocols.

They worked on actual classified missions, including hostage situations, weapons locations, and high-priority targets.

One major difference? Secrecy and control.

CENTER LANE was much more locked down than its siblings. It operated independently for a short time, with its own trained military viewers, and didn’t share as much with outside researchers. It was more “boots-on-the-ground”—if those boots were sitting in a room trying to psychically find Russian missile sites.

Eventually, the program was absorbed into SUN STREAK around 1985. From there, all of this psychic experimentation got bundled into what became the infamous STARGATE Project in the early 1990s.

Project Lead Agency Focus

• GRILL FLAME - Army + DIA + CIA Early remote viewing research
• CENTER LANE - Army Military-focused, real missions
• SUN STREAK  - DIA Intelligence/spy operations
• STARGATE - CIA/DIA Final merged program

CENTER LANE was not an experiment—it was a psychic military unit, used in the field (metaphorically). It’s one of the clearest signs that the U.S. Army really believed psychic powers might give them an edge.

So why don’t we hear about it?

                              Because it wasn’t just testing ideas. It was using them.