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Low-Flying Helicopters Will Monitor Any Nuclear Threat In Las Vegas This Weekend

Matt Novak, Senior Contributor Forbes 27 Dec 23

If you see low-flying helicopters over the Las Vegas strip during the next few days, don’t be alarmed. The U.S. Department of Energy is conducting surveillance flights to make sure any potential terrorists aren’t able to sneak a dirty bomb into the tourist destination. And, believe it or not, it’s the kind of surveillance that’s been happening since the 1970s, even if it doesn’t always get a public announcement.

The low-flying aircraft are operated by the National Nuclear Security Administration under a special group called the Nuclear Emergency Support Team, which was established almost 50 years ago to protect the U.S. from nuclear threats.

The flights are scheduled for Friday, Dec. 29 and Sunday, Dec. 31 to prepare for the big New Year’s Eve celebrations in Las Vegas.

“The public may see NNSA’s twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter, which is equipped with radiation-sensing technology,” the Department of Energy said in a press release on Wednesday………………..

The helicopter flights first measure the amount of background radiation that’s naturally occurring in a major city and allow investigators to look out for any abnormal radiation, which would be present if terrorists ever constructed what’s called a “dirty bomb” from nuclear material.

The NEST task force was first set up in 1975 after a number of nuclear threats against major American cities, many of which didn’t make the evening news and were only revealed decades later in the book Defusing Armageddon by Jeffrey T. Richelson. Some of the threats turned out to be just kids, like the 14-year-old who threatened to blow up Orlando in 1970 if he didn’t get $1 million. But other threats stemmed from instances where actual nuclear material was stolen from U.S. labs.

And that’s why NEST has been in action ever since, largely working behind the scenes, as many Americans have no idea that the Department of Energy is even monitoring for such things. But they’re constantly monitoring for nuclear threats, especially during large events like the Super Bowl or New Year’s Eve celebrations in a city like Las Vegas………………………………….. more https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/2023/12/27/low-flying-helicopters-will-monitor-any-nuclear-threat-in-las-vegas-this-weekend/?sh=13cd7d4784b9

December 29, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA