Drones have come a long way in a really short amount of time. Like many products on the technology world, drones’s concept have gone from quirky concepts to real-world practical implementation The Dubai airport is the third busiest worldwide, and it’s got an issue with drones. Particularly, unauthorized drone activity in its airspace, which can cause important security and safety issues. A stubborn drone drew into a jet engine can imply catastrophe.
And now, as per a CNN report, The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority has decided to test a “drone hunter.” This airborne bot has thermal and infrared imaging to look for drones that are in the incorrect location at the wrong time. Once it locates a rogue drone, it follows it back to its launch point, then communicates the place to cops. No offensive weapons are required. If trial tests are successful, the done could be in use before the beginning of next year.
“It’s a few individuals that participate in this type of activity. People want to explore how far their drone can go without understanding they are breaching the airspace,” Salim Al Mansouri, senior aerodrome inspector at the civil aviation authority stated to CNN. “It’s a safety concern and individuals are losing cash because of someone’s careless behavior.”
Dubai’s newest closure ran 90 minutes on October 29, and 22 flights needed to be routed to other airports. Besides the trouble to those on board, there is huge cost included as well. Each time the airport needs to close, it costs about $1 million dollars every minute.
Other airports have taken different procedures to tracking drones, for example in the Netherlands, they trained bald eagles to spot and get rid of unwanted drones. As CNN notes, as more drones share the skies with aircrafts, there are greater issues. In April, a presumed drone struck an airplane as it was entering into Heathrow in London. The Airbus A320 landed without any problem. The United States Federal Aviation Administration states drone/plane close encounters have, as you might anticipate, risen considerably in the last number of years. In the 5 months ending on January 31, there were nearly 600 incidents. New guidelines have been introduced to reduce that number.
With new technology comes new guidelines of engagement. Drones are utilized to assist police and the military, however we are still waiting for our drone provided pizza. Nonetheless, if drones are misused, the effects for airline company travelers could prove awful.
