The threat of possible drone attacks against nuclear plants is in the news. Last week, Governor Jeff Landry of Louisiana publicly raised concerns with President-Elect Trump about recent drone overflights of reactors in his state. In fact, there has been a major uptick in such overflights across the nation. Meanwhile, Russia stirred the pot by releasing plans it had to attack a major Japanese nuclear facility.

Nuclear plants may no longer be immune to military or grey warfare attacks. The question, now, is what to do.

In a memo The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists published this morning, “Memo to Trump: Address the new threat of drone-vulnerable nuclear reactors,” I argue that President-Elect Trump should pick up where he left off in his first administration. In January 2021, he issued an executive order focused on the threat of drone attacks against critical American infrastructure, including the electrical supply system.

In the first 100 days, President-Elect Trump should make sure that executive order is carried out. In addition, I recommend that he ask for an updated threat assessment as well as recommendations for active and passive defense of existing and planned nuclear facilities here and abroad. The memo goes into greater detail and makes additional recommendations. As always, curious to get your take.