You’ve seen the TikToks. Maybe you remember the 2019 "storm" that ended in a few people standing around a gate looking confused. But honestly, the real news on Area 51 lately is way weirder than the memes.
Just this week—January 14, 2026, to be exact—something very strange popped up on a thermal camera. A guy named Anders Otteson, who runs the Uncanny Expeditions channel, was camping out near Groom Lake Road. He caught what observers are calling a "Dorito-shaped" craft. It wasn’t a B-2 bomber. We know this because there was an actual B-2 flying in the same airspace at the same time for comparison. The B-2 looked like a B-2. This other thing? It was a sharp, glowing triangle that didn't match any known plane in the Air Force inventory.
It’s the kind of stuff that makes you wonder if the "Nevada Triangle" isn't just a pilot's nightmare.
The 2026 "Dorito" Sighting and the Nevada Triangle
People are calling it the "Nevada Triangle" now, a 25,000-square-mile stretch of land where over 2,000 planes have supposedly vanished or crashed over the last sixty years. Experts like flight historian Dan Bubb say it’s just the geography—the Sierra Nevada mountains create insane, unpredictable winds.
But then you see the thermal footage from four days ago.
The aircraft spotted near Area 51 didn't just look weird; it acted weird. It was flying alongside a B-2 Spirit, likely for a "fly-off" or radar cross-section test. Basically, the Air Force was probably seeing if their new toy was harder to spot on radar than the old ones. While the B-2 was chatting away on open radio channels, this triangular craft stayed completely silent. It’s a ghost.
Why the Janet Flights are still buzzing
Every single morning, those unmarked Boeing 737s with the red stripes—the "Janet" airline—take off from Harry Reid International in Las Vegas. They’re still carrying around 1,500 workers a day to the base.
👉 See also: Effingham County Jail Bookings 72 Hours: What Really Happened
Think about that.
1,500 people go to work every day at a place that "officially" didn't exist until 2013. They aren't all scientists poking at green men. Most are regular contractors, janitors, and engineers who have signed NDAs so scary they probably can't even tell their dogs what they do.
What Most People Get Wrong About the UFO "Cover-up"
Here is the twist that actually makes sense.
Recent investigations, including some wild reports from The Wall Street Journal, suggest the government might have been trolling its own employees. For decades, new commanders at the base were reportedly shown photos of "flying saucers" and told they were working on alien tech.
It was called "Yankee Blue."
The goal? It wasn't to hide aliens. It was a loyalty test. Or maybe a way to make sure that if anyone leaked anything to the Soviets, they’d be leaking fake "anti-gravity" nonsense instead of actual stealth blueprints. In the spring of 2023, the Defense Secretary finally sent out a memo telling everyone to stop the "hazing ritual" because it was confusing the actual intelligence mission.
✨ Don't miss: Joseph Stalin Political Party: What Most People Get Wrong
New Construction at Groom Lake
If you look at recent satellite imagery from late 2025 and early 2026, the base isn't shrinking. It’s sprawling.
- The North Ramp Hangar: A massive new structure appeared recently. It’s big enough to house a Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter.
- The Rotating Tower: Last August, observers finally got clear shots of a mysterious tower that actually rotates. It’s likely for testing how radar hits a plane from every possible angle.
- New X-series Sondes: Just this month, the base switched to a new type of weather balloon/sensor (the Vaisala X3133124). It sounds boring, but these are used to calibrate high-altitude flight data.
The NGAD Factor: Why 2026 is a Big Year
The U.S. Air Force is currently in a race. They need a successor to the F-22, and they need it yesterday. Most of the news on Area 51 right now stems from this "Spectrum Warfare" push.
The 562nd Electronic Warfare Squadron was recently finalized at Nellis, which is the "front office" for the testing grounds at Area 51. They’re working on something called "electromagnetic spectrum operations." Basically, they want to be able to shut down an enemy’s radar and communications before the enemy even knows a plane is in the air.
That "Dorito" plane? It’s almost certainly a technology demonstrator for this program.
It’s not aliens. It’s just very, very expensive math.
Is it safe to visit the perimeter?
Honestly, don't try to get clever with drones.
As of December 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation put out a massive ban on any drones manufactured by "foreign adversaries" (specifically DJI and other Chinese brands) being used near federal projects or sensitive sites.
🔗 Read more: Typhoon Tip and the Largest Hurricane on Record: Why Size Actually Matters
The "Camo Dudes"—the private security guys in white Ford Raptors—now have even better tech to fried your drone’s electronics before it even crosses the restricted line.
If you want to see anything, your best bet is still Tikaboo Peak. It’s a grueling hike, and you’re still 26 miles away, but with a high-powered telescope, you can see the hangars.
What to look for next
Keep an eye on the "Sabre" callsigns.
Radio enthusiasts have noted a spike in "Sabre" flights lately. These usually originate from the Groom Lake airfield and coincide with major testing events. If you hear those on a scanner, something big is probably in the air.
Practical Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
- Monitor ADS-B Exchange: Look for the Janet flights (usually starting with "WWW" or "JANET") leaving Vegas between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM.
- Check the 562nd EWS Updates: This squadron is slated for "Initial Operational Capability" by summer 2026. Their movements at Nellis usually signal what's being tested at the "ranch."
- Watch the Uncanny Expeditions Video: The full 4K thermal footage of the triangular craft is set to drop on January 20, 2026. It might be the best evidence of the next-gen stealth fleet we've seen in a decade.
The truth about Area 51 isn't that they're hiding a galactic federation. It's that they are building the most terrifyingly advanced planes in human history, and they're doing it right in front of us, masked by forty years of "UFO" campfire stories.