© Reuters / Toby MelvilleA British Airways passenger jet at Gatwick airport, UK (file photo)
London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports have ordered military-grade anti-drone defenses worth "several million pounds" after drones caused three days of disruption at Gatwick last month, The Times newspaper reported on Thursday.
Transport Minister Chris Grayling met police, aviation and defense chiefs on Thursday to discuss the issue, the report said. The airports did not immediately comment on the report.
Drone sightings caused chaos at Gatwick, Britain's second busiest airport, last month, disrupting the travel plans of tens of thousands of people in the run up to Christmas.
The incident revealed a vulnerability that is being scrutinized by security forces and airport operators worldwide.The military was drafted in to deploy specialist equipment, enabling authorities to reassure the airport that it was safe for planes to take off and land.
The technology included the Israeli-designed Drone Dome system, The
Times reported.
Security minister Ben Wallace said last month Britain's security forces had detection systems that could be deployed throughout the country to combat the threat of drones.
Media reports suggested that the defense ministry had since removed its anti-drone hardware from Gatwick.
Comment: The story becomes even more bizarre when you consider that some police officers claim there may never have been a drone in operation at all, while another is quoted saying that some of the sightings may have been a drone belonging to the police department.
It's notable that of 115 reports, 92 were confirmed by police, and confirmed as coming from credible
sources. It's also quite curious that of all those sightings not one person, nor the airports own security, managed to capture any footage of the alleged drone.
Later in the week, Birmingham airport also suffered disruption during one of the busiest times of the year, with the airport issuing a statement that a
'technical fault' led to a brief shut down shutdown of flights.
At least for Gatwick airport, it seems this is only the most recent in a spate of unusual sightings:
UFO 'near miss' at Gatwick Airport, London coincides with release of MoD files describing similar incident 18 years ago
Comment: The story becomes even more bizarre when you consider that some police officers claim there may never have been a drone in operation at all, while another is quoted saying that some of the sightings may have been a drone belonging to the police department.
It's notable that of 115 reports, 92 were confirmed by police, and confirmed as coming from credible sources. It's also quite curious that of all those sightings not one person, nor the airports own security, managed to capture any footage of the alleged drone.
Later in the week, Birmingham airport also suffered disruption during one of the busiest times of the year, with the airport issuing a statement that a 'technical fault' led to a brief shut down shutdown of flights.
At least for Gatwick airport, it seems this is only the most recent in a spate of unusual sightings: UFO 'near miss' at Gatwick Airport, London coincides with release of MoD files describing similar incident 18 years ago