Back in December, it was reported that a dozen unidentifiable vehicles were spotted poking out of their hangars in a section of the US Air Force’s Tonopah Test Range that was previously underutilized. The Drive’s Tyler Rogoway, who broke the original story, reported Tuesday that the mystery aircraft had once again been spotted outside their hangars on March 2.
The images - obtained by Rogoway from California-based, private Earth imaging company Planet Labs - showed the re-emergence of the vehicles around noon local time on Monday. Comparatively, the original December 6, 2019, event was seen at approximately 10:15 a.m. local time.
While Tonopah is generally secretive, and little has been divulged about the air base by the Pentagon, it is known that the facility houses a number of aircraft developed at Area 51, as well as other vehicles, including the retired F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter jets that have been spotted making flights in nearby airspace since they were retired from service via the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017.
While the identity of the vehicles still remains unknown, previous theories concerning the aircraft have suggested that they could be the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel, an unmanned aerial vehicle. However, Rogoway noted that they appear to vary in length, according to their shadows.
The Drive also highlighted that many sections of Tonopah’s main runway are under construction, which limits the service’s usable flight strip.