Low-flying choppers buzzing over SF Bay are part of routine radiation sweeps ahead of Super Bowl LX

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA: Bay Area residents looking up this week and spotting helicopters skimming unusually low over the San Francisco Bay shouldn't bother scratching their heads.

Federal officials have confirmed that low-flying helicopters are conducting aerial radiation sweeps ahead of the Super Bowl, part of a routine security operation tied to major national gatherings.

Why are helicopters buzzing over the San Francisco Bay?

With the Super Bowl scheduled for Sunday, February 8, helicopters have been flying at low altitudes across the region to measure background radiation levels. It is a precautionary step designed to flag any potential public safety threats. While the crisscrossing flight paths may raise eyebrows, officials insist there’s nothing out of the ordinary about the operation.

“These aerial radiation surveys are a normal and routine part of security and emergency preparedness activities,” the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration said in a statement. “NNSA is making the public aware of the upcoming flights so citizens who see the low-flying aircraft are not alarmed.”

The low-altitude flights are being carried out by a Leonardo AW-139 helicopter equipped with radiation-sensing technology. The NNSA said the aircraft is part of its Nuclear Emergency Support Team.

The surveys began Monday, with helicopters flying in a grid pattern at roughly 150 feet above ground and about 80 miles per hour to establish normal background radiation levels. If radioactive material were ever released, officials said these baseline measurements would allow authorities to quickly assess radiological conditions that could impact public health and the environment.

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration said flyovers will take place only during daylight hours and are expected to last approximately two hours per area. 

The program operates under the agency’s counterterrorism and counterproliferation mission and serves as part of the nation’s nuclear and radiological emergency response capability. The flights are scheduled to wrap up on Wednesday.

Security will tighten further on Sunday, with the Federal Aviation Administration and the FBI enforcing a “no-drone zone” over Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara and at key San Francisco locations in the lead-up to the Super Bowl.

Wide-open Super Bowl race

On the field, the NFL’s 2025 season has delivered one of the most wide-open Super Bowl races in years. Now, the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks are set to meet on Sunday to decide the league’s champions.

New England is chasing its seventh Super Bowl title, but this marks the franchise’s first appearance since 2019 and the departure of legendary quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick.

A revitalised Patriots squad has surged from obscurity to reach Super Bowl LX in California, securing a record-extending 12th appearance in the NFL’s biggest game. Seattle, meanwhile, has reached its fourth Super Bowl and its first since 2015, when the Patriots denied the Seahawks back-to-back championships.

Between 2002 and 2019, Brady and Belichick led New England to nine Super Bowls, winning six and tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most titles in league history. A win Sunday at Levi’s Stadium would push the Patriots ahead outright.

Last season, New England stumbled to a 4-13 record under Jerod Mayo, who was later replaced by Mike Vrabel, another former Patriot who won a Super Bowl as a player.

The former Tennessee Titans coach rebuilt the roster, guiding the team to a 14-3 finish. That 10-win improvement is tied for the biggest single-season turnaround in NFL history, and the Patriots are the first team from that group to reach the Super Bowl.

Vrabel, 50, could also make history of his own, becoming the first man to win a Super Bowl as both a player and head coach with the same franchise.