Technology has advanced beyond the comprehension of mankind, and drone technology is no exception. Advances in drone technology have brought a wide range of applications and perks to society, but the threat and misuse of drones are also evident. Did you know aviation regulators like the Federal Aviation Administration prohibit drones from hovering over national security premises? This also includes power plants and nuclear plants. Drone detection systems can be a brilliant way to detect drones with malicious intent, and an anti-drone rifle can also come in handy to prevent drones from disrupting the security of sensitive facilities like power plants.
Wondering how drones can harm power plants and what’s the need for drone detectors? Read on to find out!
Securing aerial premises for power plants with a drone detection system
If you think drones have become malicious now, you are mistaken. It’s been more than half a decade since the topic of drone countermeasures for power plants has been of critical significance.
In 2014, Électricité de France, a French power company, raised concern about UAVs above seven nuclear facilities. In fact, subsequently, in 2016, the Savannah River Site outside Georgia faced a drone threat. The facility stored nuclear material for processing and storage, and in 2016, the security staff spotted around eight drones.
These weren’t the only cases. In 2016 drones were also spotted over a cooling tower at the Liebstadt power plant, and in 2018, Greenspace activists crashed drones into a French nuclear plant to highlight the lack of security circumventing the facility.
Mitigating Surveillance and Physical Threats with Drone Detection Systems
Power plants should have airspace security technology as the first line of defense for drones in the airspace. Drones at power plants pose both surveillance and physical threats, including:
Intentional trespassing, vandalism, property destruction, operation disruptions
Hobbyist or unintentional crashing in critical areas
Environmentalist groups conducting aerial surveillance for capturing media to do negative publicity
Reconnaissance by criminals to gather information about security procedures and operations.
Third parties and competitors spying to extract industry secrets
A sneak peek into the solution
When drones are such nefarious technologies that are hovering over power plants, one of the effective solutions is drone-detecting systems. Drone detectors can also be used with countermeasures for spotting and stopping drones from entering unauthorized areas. In addition, power plants must also conduct a vulnerability assessment of their airspace and quantify the occurrence of UAVs to monitor drone activities and counter invading drones efficiently.
Conclusion
Power plants are sensitive establishments for a myriad of reasons and having drone detectors is an excellent way to be atop security measures in sensitive establishments. Just ensure to pick a reputed brand with an unscathed industry reputation and competitive price point for drone detectors and your aerial premises will be safe from unmanned aerial vehicles/drones.