Rheinmetall AG has won two important first orders for protecting sensitive government infrastructure from aerial drones. In Switzerland, the central prison in Lenzburg and the inter-cantonal penitentiary in Bostadel have contracted with the Düsseldorf-based high-tech group to install drone detection equipment known as the Radshield system.
Consisting of an array of video cameras, infrared sensors and radars, these sophisticated surveillance systems will monitor the grounds and airspace of these facilities day and night, detecting any flying object – not just drones but also model airplanes and balloons.
Due to go into operation soon, these systems will make a significant contribution to countering attempts to smuggle in contraband such as weapons, drugs, tools and mobile phones. Moreover, the system can also detect objects thrown over walls and fences, even when they measure only a few centimetres in diameter.
Drone intrusions are on the rise
Around the world, in recent years there has been a huge upsurge in the use of remotely controlled aerial drones to fly contraband into prisons. At prisons in Germany, incidents of this type have been occurring nearly every week recently. In Switzerland, too, multiple attempts to fly various objects into prisons have been reported. Owing to rapid advances in drone technology, active jamming, i.e. electronic countermeasures, no longer offers a reliable defence, and is in any case useless when objects are thrown over a wall or fence.
Rapid warning
Rheinmetall’s Radshield drone detection system lets guards monitor the fenced-in zone and other critical areas of the facility around the clock. As soon as a foreign object flies into the monitored area, prison personnel are warned immediately, enabling them to take rapid action, such as sealing off affected areas of the prison, evacuating and/or frisking prisoners, and searching parts of the facility.
These orders underscore Rheinmetall’s role as a leading source of security technology and effective solutions for the world’s armed forces and law enforcement agencies.
Photo: Rheinmetall
Source: Press Release