Science & Technology

'Death ray' could stop drones over Heathrow

By T.K. Randall
April 27, 2016 ·  7 comments

Drones represent an ongoing threat to airplanes. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Nicolas Halftermeyer As drones become increasingly sophisticated and affordable, the potential for unscrupulous individuals to use them as makeshift weapons becomes an ever-greater concern.

Just last weekend, police chiefs in London were investigating an incident at Heathrow Airport involving a plane that was struck while coming in to land by an object believed to be a drone.

Fortunately the British Airways Airbus A320 didn't sustain any damage, but it isn't the first such incident at the airport and it certainly won't be the last.

In a recent statement, the National Police Chiefs' Council said that they were "working with partners to better understand the threat posed by drones and to develop an appropriate technical response."One of the countermeasures that could make its way to Heathrow is the Anti-UAV Defence System - a weapon that has already been used to down unmanned aerial vehicles in Afghanistan.

Described as a "death ray", the system uses advanced tracking to pinpoint a drone's heat signature and then jams the signal so that authorities can take control of it.

"It allows us effectively to take control of that drone to control whether we force a crash landing or return it home to the take off site so the police or security forces can intercept the operator," said Mark Radford, chief executive of Blighter Surveillance Systems.

"One of the scenarios is use at airports and in urban areas."

Source: Evening Standard | Comments (7)

Tags: Drones, Death Ray