The Nuclear Material Does Not Stay Where It Is Supposed To.
One thousand five hundred fifty-eight documented incidents. Fifty-two countries. 1952 to now. Every one tracked on the map.
Against everything else MERIDIAN monitors, a nuclear or radiological incident is recorded somewhere on the planet every 29 hours. RAVENLOOK is always on watch.
Current Threat Environment
2024 recorded 284 documented nuclear and radiological incidents. Theft. Unauthorized disposal. Cyber threats against nuclear infrastructure. Smuggling attempts intercepted at borders. Roughly one incident every 29 hours.
81 active INTERPOL notices are outstanding at the time of this writing. Individuals. Networks. Modus operandi. Not history. Today.
2025 Emerging Threat Vectors
AI-Facilitated Trafficking
Emerging technology enabling illicit access and material sourcing at scale. LLM-assisted procurement chains have appeared in interdicted trafficking cases in 2024 and 2025.
Airspace Breaches
Drone incursions over restricted nuclear facilities are increasing in frequency across Europe, North America, and Asia. Multiple 2024 incidents remain officially unattributed.
Cyberattacks on Nuclear Infrastructure
Sophistication and frequency rising year on year. State and non-state actors both active. Not all detected. Not all disclosed.
Unauthorized Possession
Continued proliferation of sealed sources, industrial radioactive material, and legacy Soviet-era stock with no sign of deceleration into 2025.
Weapons-Grade Material Events
Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU): 4 Confirmed
United States: 3 incidents, involving loss and improper disposal at research facilities. Moldova: 1 trafficking arrest with attempted sale.
Plutonium-239: 14 Confirmed
United States: Idaho State University lost weapons-grade Pu-239 twice. Kazakhstan: Attempted sale, four arrested in Almaty. Ukraine: Multiple Pu-239 sources stolen and sold on the black market before recovery.
Regional Distribution
| Region | Incidents | Top Country |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 1,139 | United States (1,028) |
| Europe | 179 | France (110) |
| Eurasia / Former Soviet Union | 91 | Russia (50) |
| Northeast Asia | 54 | Japan (28) |
| Middle East | 12 | Lebanon (4) |
North America's volume reflects comprehensive US regulatory reporting requirements. It is not indicative of elevated risk relative to other nations. Countries that do not report do not appear.
Related
See Threat Record for the general incident database, and Capabilities for the Nuclear Tracker overlay that cross-references M-File events with mapped facilities.
Iran is free. Everything else is twelve dollars a month.
Open source intelligence, geospatial data, weapons systems, and non-state actor networks. All of it, one place. Cancel anytime.
FREE IRAN ACCESS · NO CREDIT CARD · CANCEL ANYTIME