It has been nearly two years since we have seen good quality video of Area 51 shot from Tikaboo Peak some 26 miles away. Now a series of new videos have been posted showing zoom and sweeping shots of America’s highly secretive flight test center located in the desolate stretches of south-central Nevada.
The videos were posted by Youtuber Adventures With Christian. Christian spends a lot of time curiously exploring the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) and sometimes to an eyebrow-raising degree. This latest video series shows him and his son hiking to the summit of Tikaboo Peak—the closest existing viewpoint into Area 51—as a snow front moved in. It serves as a good reference as to how rough the trail is leading to the summit.
It also shows the weather station installed near Tikaboo apex that almost certainly also serves as a remote surveillance node that allows the powers that be to be aware of anyone on the peak at any given time. It has long been theorized that the presence of observers on Tikaboo Peak curtails some clandestine flight test operations out of the base.
In the subsequent videos, Christian gets some great shots of the newer and quite massive hangar facility located on the south end of the base, as well as some sporadic activity happening around the installation. This includes the sudden appearance of one of the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters that provides security and other functions for Area 51 and one of the Janet 737s taking off towards the south. Heat distortion is quite low, offering decently sharp views.
One thing I noticed was the tall hangar located across from the revamped A-12 hangars that had its roof partially torn off two years ago still appears to be damaged. In fact, it appears worse now. The rupture occurred between June and July of 2017, according to satellite imagery. One has to wonder what caused the damage and why it hasn’t been fixed.
The video also shows some curious activity on the south end of the runway, but it isn’t clear exactly what these vehicles are. The dark vehicle is interesting looking as it appears to have some sort of vertical appendage at its rear making it looks somewhat like an aircraft. Then again it could be something else entirely.
With the country entering into another period of ‘great power competition’ and expanded defense spending—especially on research and development programs—Area 51 is likely to become busier than it has been in decades. We can only speculate and wonder about all the intriguing flying machines that currently traverse its aprons and have done so secretly in the past.
Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com