Yesterday, on the 19th of December at 9 PM GMT, a drone overflight shut down Gatwick airport, the UK's second busiest, stranding tens of thousands of holiday travellers.
- Six additional overflights between 9:15 PM and midnight kept it closed.
- A planned 4:30 AM opening was cancelled by another overflight at
3:45. Regular overflights at 7, 9, noon, and 3PM has kept it closed all
day, causing the cancellation 760 flights and stranding 110,000
travellers.
- The police are now deploying snipers, jamming equipment, and a laser sniper system (2 mi range) to destroy the drone if it appears again.
More @ Global Guerrillas
In this context drone technology isn't significantly different than radio-controlled model aircraft, so an attack such this has been possible for a long time. The good news is that two people were arrested. The bad news is that a coordinated attack at major airports could cripple our country for a few days. Sales of "drone zappers" should increase significantly.
ReplyDeletea coordinated attack at major airports could cripple our country for a few days.
DeleteGood point.