Britons visiting the Paris Olympics this summer could find themselves zapped by French anti-drone defense systems, which would be a huge embarrassment for President Macron.
The French capital hosts the Olympic Games in July and will welcome tens of thousands of athletes and visitors to the Games.
Among them are expected some 500,000 British athletics fans, eager to see their stars and soak up the atmosphere of the sporting carnival.
French authorities are investing heavily in security as fears of terrorist attacks increase due to geopolitical events.
Drone attacks are of particular concern to security officials because they can be easily equipped with explosives.
A tempting target for would-be terrorists is the opening ceremony, during which Olympic officials plan to ferry athletes across the Seine on boats in front of 326,000 people watching from the river’s banks.
As a result, the Macron government invested 350 million euros in what was supposed to be a cutting-edge anti-drone system, manufactured by French company Thales.
Known as Parade, the drone defense system has proven less than a resounding success in trials and could even pose a threat to unsuspecting tourists.
The system regularly mistook air-conditioning unit propellers for drones, according to the Times.
It was also able to detect only one in three drones within an 800 meter radius in dense urban environments.
Thales insisted that they would patch the system’s flaws, which they described as a normal part of the startup process.
In a statement they said: “One of Parade’s goals is to provide an easy-to-use, high-performance anti-drone system.
“The system is based on the integration of several sensors and advanced processing algorithms developed by Thales and Sopra-CS.
“Given the challenges, it is normal that the development of these algorithms and the fine-tuning of these sensors require effort and time, but the most important thing is to be ready for the 2024 Olympic Games with a system that the armed forces can operators have fully adopted it.”
The RAF has offered to provide French authorities with drone jamming equipment as part of ongoing joint security measures between London and Paris.
A UK Ministry of Defense spokesperson said: “We are working across all departments in Whitehall to provide the UK’s support for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games security operation.
“Our specialist search dog units will help secure the scene and the RAF will offer equipment and personnel to help counter potential unauthorized drones.”
News Source : www.express.co.uk
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