{"id":30687,"date":"2018-12-20T20:53:37","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T20:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/20\/british-army-deploys-in-country-to-fight-rogue-drones\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:36:23","slug":"british-army-deploys-in-country-to-fight-rogue-drones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/unmanned\/2018\/12\/20\/british-army-deploys-in-country-to-fight-rogue-drones\/","title":{"rendered":"British Army deploys in-country to fight rogue drones; aircraft now arriving, departing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LONDON \u2014 The British Army has been called up to combat rogue civilian drones<\/a> that have closed the country\u2019s second busiest airport since Wednesday evening for more than 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UPDATE (Dec. 21, 6:54 a.m. EST):<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGatwick\u2019s runway is now available and aircraft are arriving and departing,\u201d the airport\u2019s website says. \u201cWe are, however, expecting knock-on delays and cancellations to flights. If you are due to travel from Gatwick today, we strongly recommend that you check the status of your flight with your airline before departing for the airport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UPDATE (Dec. 20, 6:55 p.m. EST):<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sightings of drones are continuing at Gatwick Airport. Numerous further sightings have been reported throughout the day, one as recently as the evening of Dec. 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having rejected the idea of shooting down any drones, the government\u2019s position may now change if the opportunity arises to do it safely, the BBC is reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police are now saying there have been 50 drone sightings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STORY (Dec. 20, 3:53 p.m. EST):<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ministry of Defence confirmed the deployment in a Thursday tweet, but the MoD has not provided details of the unit involved or the equipment deployed<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe armed forces have a range of unique capabilities, and this isn\u2019t something we would usually deploy but we are there to assist and do everything we can so that they are in a position to open the airport at the earliest opportunity,” Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closure of Gatwick Airport has resulted in massive disruption with no inbound and outbound flights for a day. Situated south of London, the airport is the country\u2019s second busiest after Heathrow and last year handled more than 45 million passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closure of the airport followed reports of two drones flying in and around the airfield at approximately 9 p.m. on Dec. 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A “No Drones” sign alerts members of the public that the use of drones or UAVs is prohibited. The warning is located outside Manchester United’s Carrington Training complex in Manchester, northwest England. (Oli Scarff\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The police believe the drones were of an \u201cindustrial specification\u201d and do not believe it was a terrorist-related incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little has been published about the equipment deployed by the British government to protect sensitive sites around the country as the threat from drones intensifies. This is thought to be the first time the government has publicly acknowledged the military\u2019s deployment to specifically counter a drone threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British did, however, announce in August that it had spent $20 million to urgently acquire an anti-drone systems from Israeli company RADA Electronic Industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement at the time, the Israeli firm said it expected to complete delivery of equipment by the end of this year. There is nothing to suggest the system, known as the Drone Dome, has been deployed, but its urgent procurement does signal the growing threat that small UAVs pose to civil and military sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\t