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The US Air Force has launched a radiation-detecting jet over the UK this morning from RAF Mildenhall which has begun to pass over Scotland amid…

The US Air Force has launched a radiation-detecting jet over the UK this morning from RAF Mildenhall which has begun to pass over Scotland amid…

sniffer planes can assess When a nuclear test occurs underground, fission fragments are trapped, except for some gas particles. Those particles eventually make their way into the atmosphere where they can be detected with the right equipment. How much information a sniffer plane can collect depends on how much material was released from the test site and how quickly the sniffer plane can arrive at the location. As of now there have been no reports of nuclear explosions in the region and no tr...

Reporter, courtney cue by. good morning are any of your sources confirming whether or not this was a nuclear test. >> no. . u.s. military and government officials are still assessing what this was exactly and not confirming anything. its not uncommon for south korea and japan to be out ahead of the u.s. on assessments, even assessments on ballistic missiles weve seen that with the icbm test just last week where they get out ahead get specific details before the u.s. military and government confi...

Have tested a nuclear weapon. one of the most recent ones in 2016 they claim was a hydrogen test. geologist and experts say it was too small. in those cases we see the military putting up a wc 135 and see if they can figure out anything of what may have done. >> the wc 135 as it measures those isotopes it would be potentially what you are saying, and correct me if i am wrong determine if it was nuclear, number one, number two if it is atomic or number three if it is hydrogen. atomic being the sp...

Explosion. >> these radio isotopes decay very quickly in the air. i suspect in japan, you know, depending on the wind patterns and where things are -- how -- whether its possible that the atmospheric conditions could be moving into japan from north korea. i suspect that they would -- that they are already testing for anything in the atmosphere. i believe they have a wc-135 of their own. then they also have inherent capabilities that exist in japan that they would be able to test for this. but be...

Conditions. so in this case, it would be looking for testing potential radio isotopes that may be up in the air. these isotopes behave very quickly but general military in the region. they keep them flying all the time all around the world. it will be able to tell them depending on how quickly they can get the samples, should be able to tell them what kind of weapon may have been tested here if it was a weapon. but japanese, i believe also have a wc 135 that they could get up much quicker and in...

>>. >> reporter: at this point we dont have confirmation from the u.s. government that this is a nuclear test at all. speculation based on the time of day, the seismic activity that it was, the size and the aftermath of it. i am far from a seismic expert. but based on after one of these events whether there are specific measurements of waves afterwards give an indication whether this could in fact have been an actual earthquake or some explosion. the u.s. government is not confirming any of that...

Jennifer griffin joins us live from the pentagon. what can you tell us about this close encounter? >> the incident occurred wednesday in the east china sea, west of north korea. two chinese aircraft intercepted the constant phoenix. its known as a sniffer plane, a spy plane the contest for signs of a nuclear test in the atmosphere. the u.s. surveillance plane was operating in accordance with international law according to a statement released by the pacific spokesman. while we are still advancin...

Put this into context for us. we think north korea could be preparing for this first nuclear test under the trump administration. sixth nuclear test overall. what could really happen in the next 48 hours? what is your reporting? >> my reporting, hallie is that the intelligence community believes this test could happen at any time with no warning. youre absolutely right. the military has deployed a number of air assets to the region in recent days, but consistent for the past few weeks and months...