Airborne gamma spectrometry was first used for mining prospection. Three main families were looked for: K40, U238 and Th232. The Chernobyl accident acted as a trigger and for the last fifteen years, a lot of new systems have been developed for intervention in case of nuclear accident or environmental purposes. Depending on their uses, new algorithms were developed, mainly for medium or high energy signal extraction. These spectral regions are characteristics of natural emissions (K40, U238- and Th-232 decay chains) and fissions products (mainly Cs137 and Co60). Below 400 keV, where special nuclear materials emit, these methods can still be used but are greatly imprecise. A new algorithm called 2-windows (extended to 3), was developed. It allows an accurate extraction, taking the flight altitude into account to minimize false detection. Watching radioactive materials traffic appeared with homeland security policy a few years ago. This particular use of dedicated sensors require a new type of algorithms. Before, one algorithm was very efficient for a particular nuclide or spectral region. Now, we need algorithm able to detect an anomaly wherever it is and whatever it is : industrial, medical or SNM. This work identified two families of methods working under these circumstances. Finally, anomalies have to be identified. IAEA recommend to watch around 30 radionuclides. A brand new identification algorithm was developed, using several rays per element and avoiding identifications conflicts.
