The feds are in the middle of a mammoth “nuclear incident training exercise” in upstate New York — while stressing it is routine and not a reaction to a threat.
The exercise started Sunday and will run through Friday around Schenectady and Albany, with members of the Department of Defense, National Nuclear Security Administration, FBI, Homeland Security and other local and federal agencies, the FBI said.
“The exercise is an opportunity for participating entities to practice and enhance operational readiness to respond in the event of a nuclear incident in the United States or overseas,” the FBI statement said.
Those involved will use police aircraft and wear personal protective equipment to “simulate realistic conditions” as they deploy the National Technical Nuclear Forensics Ground Collection Task Force, which grabs samples of nuclear debris after an event for analysis, according to Sarah Ruane, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Albany office.
“The training exercise will not pose any risk to area residents,” The FBI statement stressed. “The public does not need to be alarmed by training-related activity.”
The drills in Schenectady, Albany and Saratoga counties come at a time of heightened fears of nuclear war, with Russian President Vladimir Putin among those recently threatening such attacks.
However, they are not a response to such threats, the FBI stated, noting how similar biannual trainings have been held throughout the country since 2012.
“I cannot stress enough that this is a regularly planned and executed training exercise,” Ruane told The Post.
“This exercise is not being conducted in response to any recent or ongoing world events, and planning began back in the spring.”
Still, the drill comes at a time of great international strife that has many citizens worried about the possibility of a nuclear conflict or a third world war.
Most of the concerns stem from Russia, which has consistently rattled its nuclear saber since invading Ukraine in February 2022.
Last month, Putin again threw fuel on that worrisome fire when he said Russia would “respond to any challenge, always,” according to the Economic Times.
“You know, there is no need to scare anyone,” Putin said. “[But] there are many dangers, they are increasing. And we see what our enemy is doing today, escalating the situation. If they want to, let them live badly, let them escalate further.”