The Drone Threat at Critical Sites and Why Radar Is the First Line of Defense
In the Security Info Watch article titled “Why drones are the bad actors’ new toy”, Yaniv Mendelson, Director of Business Development at Echodyne, explains how drones have gone from being seen as recreational gadgets to becoming the tool of choice for bad actors targeting critical infrastructure (CI), and can now be platforms for espionage, sabotage and operational disruption.
Writing alongside Tom Adams, Director of Public Safety at DroneShield, the two point out that unknown drone activity in New Jersey in December, and incidents which paused air traffic in New York and at an Air Force base in Ohio have sparked a much-needed national conversation on how to deal with the threat. Sweden’s Stockholm Arlanda Airport also faced recent disruption, and a man in Nashville attempted to weaponize a drone with explosives to target an energy facility.
Facilities such as energy facilities, airports, water treatment plants, and transportation hubs are high-value targets for adversaries hoping to maximize impact, and the huge scale of critical infrastructure mean there are many targets, with 14,000+ water and treatment plants, 2,400,000 miles of energy pipelines and more than 5,000 airports in the U.S. Airspace awareness technologies are not typically deployed at such sites.
“While the motivations of attackers of CI locations vary, from state-sponsored espionage and terrorism to criminal enterprises aiming to steal intellectual property or seeking to cause widespread chaos, the low cost, accessibility, and ease of modification of drones make them particularly attractive tools for such nefarious activities."
The Solution
- The threat from drones requires a layered approach including advanced detection, tracking and mitigation
- Traditional security systems are built for ground-level threats and are ill-equipped to deal with drones
- Radar systems offer high-precision drone detection and work in all weather conditions, and are an essential component of a layered approach
- Radio frequency (RF) detection technologies can help to identify drones and locate pilots
“The need for proactive investment in Counter uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) technologies has never been more critical as incidents continue to grow. We must accept that we’re in a new environment that requires new approaches. The battle against bad actors is simply no longer confined to the ground. With drones taking flight as a tool of destruction, all stakeholders, from policymakers to the security community, must rise to the challenge and safeguard the critical infrastructure that powers and protects our modern way of life.”
Read the full article on Security Info Watch with analysis on why C-UAS systems are a vital layer of protection for critical infrastructure sites.