Rogue drones «deliberately» flown over one of the UK’s busiest airports caused travel chaos this week.
Incoming planes were forced to divert to airports up and down the country as the drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), repeatedly appeared over the airfield at London’s Gatwick Airport. The situation was so serious the Army was called in to support the local police in tackling the issue, with the runway finally re-opening on Friday morning.
For some time now, governments around the world have been looking at different ways of addressing the dangers of drone use in areas where they pose safety risks.
Rogue drones can be detected or located using cameras, radar and radio frequency sensors. Such technology can be integrated into existing airport systems and can have a reach of several miles. It can then be used to effectively «jam» the communication between a device and its operator, causing it to initiate a default mode that sends it back to where it came from. One company that has developed this method is Quantum Aviation, which provided the technology to counter possible threats from drones targeting the London 2012 Olympics.
China has also developed a signal-jamming gun that can reportedly down drones from half a mile away.