FBI Announces Upcoming Nuclear Incident Simulation Drill “`

The FBI has announced a multi-agency simulation of a nuclear event in New York State this week.

This large-scale nuclear training exercise, beginning Monday, will run from January 26th to 31st across Schenectady, Albany, and Saratoga Counties, the FBI stated. The agency assures the public this poses no threat.

Activities will primarily focus around Albany International Airport, Stratton Air National Guard Base, and fire departments in northern Saratoga County.

These drills, simulating a nuclear incident, are part of biannual exercises conducted since 2012, according to a Friday statement. 

“Planning for this exercise started last spring,” FBI Albany Public Affairs Officer Sarah Ruane told reporters, adding that the drills are unrelated to current global events.

Residents in the training areas may see personnel in protective gear “to simulate realistic conditions,” along with military personnel, vehicles, and aircraft, the FBI noted.

The exercise aims to “practice and improve operational readiness for responding to a nuclear incident domestically or internationally,” the agency explained.

“This is an exercise by the National Technical Nuclear Forensics Ground Collection Task Force, which would support the investigation of a nuclear incident,” Ruane said. “The Task Force collects nuclear debris samples for analysis at national laboratories.”

The US regularly conducts nuclear readiness exercises. A recent example is Global Thunder 25 (GT25), conducted by US Strategic Command last October.

President Trump recently expressed hope for talks with Russia and China on reducing nuclear stockpiles, citing prior support from President Putin for denuclearization.

Trump also highlighted the significant expense of maintaining America’s nuclear arsenal, stating that “tremendous amounts of money are being spent on nuclear, and the destructive capability is something that we don’t even want to talk about.”

Russia and the US were previously bound by the New START treaty, mandating reductions in deployed strategic nuclear warheads. However, Moscow suspended its participation in 2023 due to US military aid to Ukraine. Russia has affirmed its continued adherence to the treaty’s limits, with President Putin repeatedly emphasizing nuclear weapons as a “last resort.”