Overview
- A thermal still posted by the Project Fear YouTube channel on June 3 has circulated online as a teaser for a forthcoming video and was shared widely on June 4 and 5.
- Independent observer Anders Otteson of Uncanny Expeditions told outlets the footage is genuine and identified the sensor model used, but he did not identify the aircraft.
- Analysts note the shape—cranked‑kite wings and forward canards—resembles public renderings of the Air Force’s F‑47/NGAD concepts, though that match is not definitive.
- Experts and commenters point to alternate explanations and sensor limits, noting thermal cameras can mask exhaust or distort shapes and that the image could show a mockup, uncrewed demonstrator, or sensor artifact.
- The Air Force declined to comment and the sighting feeds a longer record of classified X‑plane testing near Groom Lake, a trend made harder to verify by reduced public vantage points like the closure of Tikaboo Peak.