General
January 6, 2019
4 minutes read

Heathrow And Gatwick Airports Spend Millions On Anti-Drone Technology

image : Heathrow Airport Heathrow and Gatwick, the two busiest U.K. airports have confirmed they’ve spent millions on military grade…

image : Heathrow Airport

Heathrow and Gatwick, the two busiest U.K. airports have confirmed they’ve spent millions on military grade anti-drone equipment after a recent event that affected about 140,000 passengers and over 1,000 flights at Gatwick Airport.

These passengers were left stranded after reported drone sightings due to flight cancellations and diversions that followed. A couple detained by the Sussex Police on suspicion of being behind the disruption were released shortly after without any charges.

image : Heathrow Airport

Exactly what equipment was installed is not specified but a Gatwick spokeswoman noted that the purchased equipment provided a military-grade similar level of protection and was installed about a week ago. The British military was called amid the recent drone disruption and deployed what is believed to the Israeli-developed Drone Dome system capable of detecting and jamming communication between drones and their operators. On Wednesday, it confirmed it had withdrawn its resources from the Gatwick Airport.

According to The Guardian, U.K’s major airports are expected to announce significant investment in more anti-drone systems although it may not necessarily be of the level deployed at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.