Overview

• Aviation photographer Michael Rokita filmed the Boeing 737-200 from Tikaboo Peak about 26 miles away, capturing touch-and-go maneuvers, a landing on Runway 32, and a taxi into Hangar 18.
• Rokita reported the call sign “Saber 98,” which news outlets linked to activity associated with Hangar 18 at the Groom Lake facility.
• The aircraft, known as RAT55, is widely described as a radar testbed that evaluates stealth characteristics and radar cross-sections of other planes during flight.
• RAT55 typically operates in restricted airspace over Nevada and near Edwards Air Force Base and is known to drop off public flight trackers by switching off its transponder.
• Multiple publications corroborated the sighting using Rokita’s footage, while officials have provided no fresh details beyond the 2013 acknowledgment that Area 51 supports advanced aircraft testing.