A UK consortium of companies has launched a two-year, high-intensity autonomous drone operations (HALO) project to develop and test an uncrewed aircraft traffic management system (UTM) capable of integrating around the clock UAV flights at London’s Heathrow Airport.
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The UK’s leading electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft producer, Vertical Aerospace, has struck a deal with London’s Heathrow Airport to examine integration and use of its craft at Europe’s biggest passenger air platform.
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Heathrow Airport recently deployed anti-drone systems around its runways and taxiways to prevent rogue drones from coming into the airspace near the airport. The system is also able to locate the pilot and share their location with the authorities.
A couple of weeks ago climate change activists, who are part of the Extinction Rebellion movement, had announced that they would be using toy drones to disrupt air traffic at Heathrow Airport in the UK today. The operation was called Heathrow Pause. However, British police made a number of arrests leading up to the planned disruption and also used jamming technology to prevent drones from taking off earlier today.
Climate change activists are planning to shut down Heathrow Airport in London with drones, aiming to create chaos for more than a million travelers.
As we have recently seen at Gatwick and Heathrow Airport, people are quick to point to drones as the culprits when often times other items may have been seen and misidentified as unmanned aerial systems. This morning DJI has sent out an official statement urging people to be cautious in evaluating reports of drone incidents and also say that the recent sightings at multiple airports may have been influenced by publicity.
Three weeks after the Gatwick fiasco, now Heathrow Airport halted departures and closed a runway after a possible drone sighting late Tuesday evening. About an hour later, the departures had resumed at Europe’s busiest airport. On Tuesday night, Britain’s transport secretary, Chris Grayling said that the military was ready to deploy the same military-grade counter-drone equipment that was used at Gatwick, “should it prove necessary.”