Olympic Games: Security forces intercept around six drones a day
France has set up a drone defense system for the Olympic Games to protect the Olympic village, for example. Drones are already being intercepted.
(Image: Dmitry Kalinovsky/Shutterstock.com)
Securing the airspace over Paris for the Olympic Games is difficult, the French news agency AFP reported on Wednesday. Compliance with the ban on flying drones over the Olympic village and the venues is placing high demands on the security forces. On average, they will intercept around six drones per day, said French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Tuesday during a visit to the drone defense center at the Velizy-Villacoublay air base.
The intercepted drones are said to be mostly those operated by individuals. They are mainly used to take pictures for tourist purposes, according to AFP. However, there is a ban on flying drones over Paris - except for those that have permission to film, such as TV stations. All other drones are tracked and stopped immediately. Such as a drone that was launched in the Olympic village on Sunday by the head of communications for the Brazilian delegation. He was arrested for operating the drone.
In order to prevent unauthorized drone flights, France has set up a drone defense unit to protect the Olympic Village and venues against possible attacks from the air. The unit responsible comes from the French military, which has several stationary and mobile drone defense systems whose use is combined. There will be 15 of them in Paris alone to protect several kilometers of airspace. Around 1300 military personnel are to be deployed for this purpose.
Use of jammers
The units control the airspace with cameras and radar. The jammers used are deployed as soon as drones take off or enter the restricted zones. The jammers can be used to disrupt frequencies in order to override communication between the remote control and the drone. The video transmission and GPS signal to the drone can also be disrupted. The drone can thus be jammed within a radius of 1200 m and brought to the ground.
If this does not work, the drone is physically taken out of the air. A net launcher is then used, for example. A fired projectile transports a 2.8 m x 2.8 m net into the air and catches the drone, which then glides to the ground together with the net on a parachute. So far, however, there are only a limited number of these. In addition, the range is limited to 100 meters.
However, other methods can also be used, such as a drone that can capture enemy drones with a net. Two units of four drones each are to be available, it was reported in March. A prototype of a laser defense weapon from the French company Cilas is also said to be in use. It can be used to disable drones at a distance of around one kilometer. The laser automatically adapts to the drone's movements and keeps it in its sights at all times until it is shot down. This is also safe in urban areas.
(olb)