France is launching research on how to track and destroy drones as the mystery of who is behind a series of illegal flights over atomic sites remains unsolved.
The French National Research Agency will start a tender later this month for systems to “detect and even neutralise” drones, according to a statement from the Secretariat for Defence and National Security, which advises the president and prime minister.
Areva SA (AREVA), Electricite de France SA and Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives confirmed some 20 incidents since the middle of September of remote-controlled drone-like objects violating protected zones around their nuclear installations. The government vowed to put an end to the flights, which haven’t inflicted damage. No one has publicly claimed responsibility.
“The use of drones is bringing progress but with it new risks,” the national security committee said in yesterday’s statement.
The flights exposed a security weakness described by speakers at a parliamentary hearing last month in Paris. Top military and police officials joined experts from the nuclear industry and research organisations to testify before lawmakers on the kinds of drone technology that may be at work and the risks they pose.
French radar systems aren’t adapted to detect so-called mini-drones weighing a few kilograms and flying at low altitudes, Denis Mercier, Chief of Staff of the French Air Force, told the hearing.
Drone industry representatives gave evidence on the sector’s exponential growth and lack of adequate supervision.
EDF lists seven power plants that have been flown over :
- Creys-Malville (Isère)
- Gravelines (Nord)
- Cattenom (Moselle)
- Blayais (Gironde)
- Bugey (Ain)
- Chooz (Ardennes)
- Nogent-sur-Seine (Aube)
Greenpeace reports that these three have also been involved:
- CEA at Saclay (Essonne)
- the nuclear power plant at Fessenheim (Haut-Rhin)
- the plant at Areva de Pierrelatte, located in the Tricastin complex (Drôme)
EDF operates 58 nuclear reactors at 19 plants dotting the countryside, making France the country that relies on atomic power the most.
Map of France’s various nuclear installations by Greenpeace
Source: Bloomberg