Area 51 Panorama taken from Tikaboo Peak on May 10, 2023

Area 51 Panorama
taken from Tikaboo Peak on May 10, 2023

This new Area 51 panorama was taken from Tikaboo Peak on May 10, 2023 by our long-time member Michał "n01_b4_flash" Rokita. He used a Nikon P1000 camera with a 3000mm optical zoom, mounted on a sturdy tripod with a gear head for panning. Scroll down for some clips with recent changes. The panorama file is quite large. It may take a few moments to download and render. But it is worth the wait...

Special thanks to Michał for sharing his awesome panorama with us! Enjoy...

Area 51 Panorama from May 10, 2023

Same as above with all significant features labelled

Video of Area 51 from Tikaboo Peak

Large scoot-and-hide shelters east and west of hangars 20-23. They cover the entire ramp area on both sides of the pull-through hangars. Each cover is 500x150' with a 1.75 acre footprint. There is speculation that hangars 20-23, originally built for the F-117 project, are being re-purposed for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) project. That project includes a family of networked aircraft, with one manned aircraft and various specialized unmanned companions. Construction of the covers started between 11/2019 and 04/2020 and was complete in 12/2020.

New large building (left) south of the new Dining Hall (center). Construction started in 07/2020. Building appears complete on the outside in 11/2020. In 02/2022 satellite image the lot surrounding the building is still being worked on. Appears finished in 04/23 image. Google Earth images show a large bank of A/C units and two massive backup generators on the east side. This building clearly needs a lot of power but judging by the parking spots not a lot of personnel. It is very likely a new secure data center. Quite possibly related to the AI-controlled unmanned components of the NGAD project.
In the background on the right you can see the upper part of the new 2-story Dormitory building. Construction started in 2021. Building and surrounding parking area were completed between 02/22 and 04/23.

Construction at the North Ramp, on the far (west) side of the large hangars. The 04/23 Google Earth image shows beginning construction for three revetments there. The inside clearance of each bay is about 110', large enough for aircraft with a 65-85' wing span. The North Ramp has been used by the Red Hats in the past for the evaluation of "acquired" Russian aircraft. In the current geopolitical climate it is likely that the construction is in preparation for the evaluation of newly "acquired" Russian or Chinese aircraft.
One of the Groom F-16 can be seen on the ramp in the right foreground. They used to be parked on the part of the ramp that is currently under construction.