NNSA surveyed for aerial radiation in Las Vegas ahead of F1 race

The National Nuclear Security Administration conducted low-altitude helicopter flights starting Tuesday this week over Las Vegas, Nev. ahead of the city’s Grand Prix, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.

According to a post Monday from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on the website X, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) used its helicopters to conduct aerial radiological surveys ahead of the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix that would take place Sunday Nov. 24. A spokesperson for NNSA confirmed the survey went as scheduled.

A press release from the NNSA’s Nevada National Security Site Tuesday said that a new AW139 helicopter at Nellis Air Force Base would replace the Bell 412 helicopter for these radiological sweeps by the NNSA’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST).

“This AW139 will strengthen NEST’s capabilities and enhance our ability to protect our nation,” Wendin Smith, the Deputy Under Secretary for the Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation at DOE, said in the release.

The NNSA’s aerial measuring system conducts preventative radiation missions in preparation for high-profile events, including the Superbowl, political party conventions, and the presidential inauguration.

NEST is part of the Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation, which aims to provide early threat indications, inform of nuclear materials globally, and prevent adversaries from obtaining and detonating a nuclear device.