'Something is observing us': Man tracks every flyover at America's nuclear plants | Reality Check

<p>Go to https://ground.news/ross to get 40% off unlimited access to the news tool I actually trust. It helps you cut through the noise and understand how stories are being reported across the spectrum.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode of &quot;Reality Check,&quot; Ross Coulthart sits down with Daryl Johnson, the former senior security specialist at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, who spent more than a decade monitoring and trending every reported drone and UAP flyover at America&#39;s commercial nuclear power plants. Johnson reveals that close to 300 flyovers were logged between 2014 and 2025, with fewer than one percent ever traced back to an operator, and that the vast majority of plants still have no no-fly zone, no radar and no aerial detection requirement of any kind.</p><p> </p><p>Johnson recounts the incidents that defied a conventional drone explanation, including a black triangle that hovered over Pennsylvania&#39;s Susquehanna plant for more than two hours in 2022 and a December 2024 incident near Virginia&#39;s Surry plant in which lights vanished and reappeared a mile away within seconds before ascending out of sight. Johnson also describes the resistance he met inside the NRC when he pushed for UAP reporting guidance, and the AARO data request that first put the phenomenon on his desk. His conclusion, drawn from his new book &quot;Unguarded Skies,&quot; is blunt: something is observing us and we don&#39;t know what it is or who controls it.</p><p><br></p><p>#nuclearplant #UAPs #drones </p><p><br></p><p>CREDITS:</p><p>Host: Ross Coulthart</p><p>Executive Producer: Andy Gipson</p><p>Editorial Producer: Meagan Medick</p><p>Associate Producer: Will Tomasi</p><p>Research Producer: Rob Jones</p><p>Editor: Tony Diasio</p><p><br></p><p>On &quot;Reality Check,&quot; NewsNation Special Correspondent Ross Coulthart takes a fact-based approach to tackle everything from unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) to mysteries often missing from the headlines. </p><p><br></p><p>More Reality Check: https://www.newsnationnow.com/podcasts-newsnation/reality-check-with-ross-coulthart/ </p><p><br></p><p>Email your questions to RealityCheck@NewsNationNow.com </p><p><br></p><p>NewsNation is your source for fact-based, unbiased news for all Americans. </p><p>More from NewsNation: https://www.newsnationnow.com/ </p><p>Get our app: https://trib.al/TBXgYpp </p><p>Find us on your screen: https://www.joinnn.com/</p><p><br></p><p>CHAPTER SUMMARY:</p><p>0:00 Intro</p><p>4:04 What Are These Drones?</p><p>5:06 Why Nuclear Plants Are Targets</p><p>7:40 A Word From Our Sponsors</p><p>10:12 How Serious is this Threat?</p><p>11:08 Bigger Than a Vehicle</p><p>13:11 Two Hours Over Susquehanna</p><p>15:33 No Detection Equipment</p><p>17:09 Less Than One Percent Identified</p><p>18:09 Discovering the UAP Question</p><p>20:05 Where Plants Are Vulnerable</p><p>23:47 Lessons From Ukraine</p><p>25:43 Only Two No-Fly Zones</p><p>28:06 Fighting His Own Agency</p><p>32:09 Security Rolled Back</p><p>37:21 The Inexpensive Fix</p><p>39:26 How Japan Solved It</p><p>41:47 An Order Without Teeth</p><p>44:52 Triangles in the Archive</p><p>47:18 The Surry Incident</p><p>48:51 Laughed at by Management</p><p>52:14 Incomplete Data to AARO</p><p>55:57 &quot;Something Is Observing Us&quot;</p><p>1:00:20 Nearly 300 Flyovers</p><p>1:01:25 Told to Stand Down</p><p>1:04:29 A Secret American Craft?</p><p>1:06:08 The White Paper</p><p>1:08:25 The Pantex Contrast</p><p>1:11:07 No Aerial Detection Required</p><p>1:14:07 Can&#39;t Jam, Can&#39;t Shoot</p><p>1:16:26 Safer Skies and Cotton Bill</p><p>1:18:51 What Does He Think?</p>