Nuclear weapons can do an enormous amount of damage in an instant. Radiological weapons can deliver lethal amounts of energy that cannot be seen, heard, felt or noticed – until after the fact, when massive amounts of damage to the human body might be beyond repair. The nuclear nature that makes these weapons so destructive is what makes them unique.

But the unique properties of radiological and nuclear weapons also mean they can be detected, identified and tracked in a way other weapons of mass destruction cannot. Our scientists, technicians, and military experts are working with industry and other agencies and governments to combat these weapons. We are advancing the technologies and creating the tools that can find these weapons long before they can harm our warfighters, our allies and partners, and the United States.

The solutions we’re crafting are as unique as the problem, and we’re solving problems that were considered hopeless just a few years ago. We’re developing nuclear detection technologies that work on land, on the sea and in the air. We’re producing handheld detectors that are rugged, reliable and easy to use, and larger detectors that can detect weapons and materials from incredible distances. And it’s not just the problems known today – we’re looking far ahead, anticipating what our adversaries will be doing in 20 years – and developing those countermeasures today.