"Best photos of drones so far" removed post might have photographed the Nuclear Emergency Support Team's Geiger Counter Chopper
u/Outrageous_Field_411's removed post of the close up photos of what appears to be an AW139 Helicopter in NJ may be "The NNSA Aerial Measuring System’s new AW139 helicopters" hence the geiger counter cylinder mounted on the side. This supports the loose nuclear material hypothesis.
Dave Rivera's original post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/552059654373970/permalink/561933676719901/?mibextid=WC7FNe&rdid=wn2WKMANrRFfX4lr#
The comment on facebook first suggesting it's a photo of an AW139 by Mick Nannix:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=9370800112965355&set=p.9370800112965355&type=3
A redditor commenting similarly:
{Mother-Act-6694 Jul 30, 2022 •44m ago• Top 1% Commenter
It’s the underside of an AW-139 helicopter, commonly used by state/local LEOs. You can see the step rails, cameras/sensors up front and the same offset from centerline light and housing in this photo:
Looks like its the Rad chopper: "NNSA gets new helicopters to support radiological security across the nation The NNSA Aerial Measuring System’s new AW139 helicopters will increase the Nuclear Emergency Support Team's ability to conduct a wide range of national security and public safety missions." https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/nnsa-gets-new-helicopters-support-radiological-security-across-nation
Edit: I think this has been identified now:
u/BelieveCam • 5d ago •
It’s not that chopper, it’s N3NJ the New Jersey state police heli. Video here https://youtu.be/a8hrGsQrAmA?si=4XeczzXcWdqiSxh8
Reply u/Skookmehgooch • 5d ago •
I am reposting my comment to add to what you said! Someone already solved this on another Reddit post. This is a NJ State police helicopter. It is simply a coincidence that the NNSA uses the same helicopter.
Here is r he comment by u/transcom_
That is correct - EST is UTC-5. Not sure if Flight Radar was having issues, but ADS-B Exchange shows this NJ State Police AW-139 throughout its entire flight in that area, clearly doing two low loops before leaving the area: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a63673&lat=40.920&lon=-74.037&zoom=12.8&showTrace=2024-12-13×tamp=1734133616
That craft does appear to have extra sensor kit that wouldn’t likely be found on a civilian AW-139.
The real question is, how does somebody who lives in that general area not immediately recognize the sound of helicopter?