Former NRC specialist details the blind spots around nuclear-site flyovers

In a new Reality Check interview, former Nuclear Regulatory Commission senior security specialist Daryl Johnson says he compiled close to 300 reported drone or UAP flyovers at U.S. commercial nuclear plants from 2014 through 2025. He argues that many facilities lack radar, aerial-detection systems, and protective airspace capable of identifying an operator, leaving even ordinary drones difficult to attribute after a sighting.

Johnson also recounts more dramatic incidents, including a reported black triangle that allegedly hovered near Pennsylvania's Susquehanna plant in 2022. Those case details and the current aggregate are claims presented in the interview; the episode does not publish the full incident log, underlying NRC records, sensor files, or independent case reconstructions. Earlier FOIA-based reporting established that dozens of drone incursions were documented at nuclear facilities, confirming the security category without validating every new anecdote or an extraordinary origin.

Why it matters

Poor detection and attribution near critical infrastructure are consequential even when the object is a conventional drone, and the evidence gap explains why 'unidentified' can persist without implying exotic performance.

What the source establishes

Confirmed current interview and a historically documented nuclear-site drone problem. The nearly 300-event total and named encounter details require the underlying records for independent verification.