Nuke-Sniffing Helicopter Spotted Over San Francisco Ahead Of Super Bowl

A U.S. Department of Energy helicopter operating under the callsign “ENERGY14,” used for aerial radiological detection, was spotted in the San Francisco metro area ahead of the Super Bowl this weekend.

The nuclear-sniffing helicopter, which flies with specialized sensor pods that detect gamma and neutron radiation and map radioactive plumes in real time, was observed surveying over parts of the San Francisco metro area on Monday.

Open-source intelligence accounts documented ENERGY14’s flight path using Flightradar24 data. X user TheIntelFrog noted that the helicopter was “conducting low-level sweeps over the San Francisco area to obtain baseline samples before Super Bowl LX.”

Another X user documented ENERGY14’s radiological aerial survey of the metro area.

SF Jet Spotter snapped photos of the helicopter.

Beyond the nuke-sniffing mission, we wonder what type of layered counter-UAS threat detection is in place around Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, given the event’s high profile.