A strange, “Dorito-shaped” aircraft was spotted flying above the highly secretive Area 51 military base in southern Nevada, reigniting curiosity and speculation about what exactly is being tested in one of the most restricted airspaces in the country.
The sighting was captured by off-grid videographer Anders Otteson, who documents remote and mysterious locations near the classified installation for his YouTube channel, Uncanny Expeditions. Otteson said he was out in the desert around 3 a.m. on Jan. 14 when he recorded footage of an unidentified aircraft moving silently across the sky.
According to Otteson, the craft appeared to be an unidentified aerial phenomenon with an equilateral triangle shape that stood out from known aircraft. Earlier that same night, he had filmed a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber in the area, but he said the second aircraft looked noticeably different. While the B-2 has a recognizable V-wing design, Otteson said the mystery craft appeared to have a flatter trailing edge, no visible wings, and a jagged rear section.
Newly released infrared footage dated January 14, filmed by videographer and explorer Anders Otteson, who runs a channel called Uncanny Expeditions on YouTube, shows an unidentified triangular-shaped aircraft flying over Area 51 and the Nevada Test and Training Range. pic.twitter.com/kQMmvI2tur
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 22, 2026
Despite those differences, Otteson acknowledged the limitations of his footage and said he could not completely rule out the possibility that the object was a B-2 or another classified military aircraft. Given the distance and resolution, he said caution is warranted. Still, he raised the question of whether the aircraft was part of a secret test flight or a routine training mission.
“Are we looking at a classified test flight or run-of-the-mill training sortie?” Otteson asked. “I certainly think we have something interesting here.”
Otteson said the aircraft closely matched the shape and flight trail seen in photographs taken in 2014 over Wichita, Kansas, and Amarillo, Texas. Those images appeared to show similar triangle-shaped aircraft that did not resemble any publicly acknowledged Air Force planes or known drones.
He also noted similarities to more recent reports of triangle-shaped or “Dorito-shaped” aircraft sightings over remote desert regions in Southern California. According to Otteson, those reports share common characteristics that suggest a recurring design rather than isolated incidents.
The mystery deepened the following day when Otteson connected with UFO researcher Joerg Arnu. Arnu shared scanner audio that allegedly captured unusual radio chatter over Area 51’s unencrypted channels during a B-2 bomber flight just hours before the triangle-shaped aircraft was seen.
In the audio, pilots could be heard using odd, snack-themed phrases such as “profile Michelob,” “Imperial with garlic,” “pretzel snack,” and “fridge hydrate.” Arnu said the chatter was unlike anything he had heard in decades of monitoring military aviation frequencies.
Otteson urged caution, however, suggesting the unusual language could simply be routine military jargon or coded communication used by pilots during flights. Even so, he said the timing and nature of the chatter added another layer of intrigue to the sighting.
Nevada recorded more than 40 reports of triangular unidentified aerial phenomena in 2025, according to data from the National UFO Reporting Center. Area 51, which remained officially secret for decades before the government acknowledged its existence in 2013, has long been a magnet for UFO lore and speculation.
More recently, a triangular tower spotted at the base in April fueled conspiracy theories about possible links to advanced or even alien technology. The structure, estimated to stand between 150 and 190 feet tall, has not been fully explained, leaving questions about its purpose unanswered.
For Otteson, the latest sighting reinforces the idea that unusual and possibly classified activity continues in the skies above Area 51, even if definitive answers remain elusive.
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