Protecting Stadiums and Commercial Venues from Disruptive Fans, Vandals and Terrorists
Large-scale and open-air events in sports stadiums and other commercial venues have become ripe targets for drones and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), with a lack of defences creating scope for negligent tech-lovers, protestors, vandals and even terrorists to fly over.
Although laws and regulations surrounding drones are evolving, stadiums and commercial venues increasingly struggle with UAS incursions. With most unequipped to detect or hinder them, events are forced to come to a halt in the interest of protecting athletes, performers and spectators in densely populated spaces.
Last year, an English Premier League soccer match was temporarily suspended while officials dealt with an overhead drone; a YouTube prankster was later reported to have claimed responsibility for the incident. Similarly, a Super League rugby league game was paused while a drone was in the stadium’s vicinity. In the US, there have been more and more disruptions to National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) matches.
These aren’t just interruptions – a rogue drone not only causes discomfort among visitors, but poses a significant threat to the safety of all present.
There is also the commercial concern. A UAS provides an excellent opportunity to illegally capture footage from events by hovering over locations, whether it’s because the pilot doesn’t want to purchase a ticket or they intend to stream to a global online audience.
Drones are a relatively new problem for venues, however with consumer-grade devices quickly advancing and sales rising, counterdrone protection for public events at stadiums and other commercial venues has become an essential safety asset.
Pictured: DroneShield’s RfPatrol Mk2
Counter-drone Stadiums and Temporary C-UAS for Commercial Venues and Events
The 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne made headlines around the world for more than just the racing action and brutal crashes. Alongside more than 440,000 race-goers were police armed with counter-drone guns, keeping an eye on the skies to ensure unwanted drones wouldn’t disrupt the spectacle.
This is one example of DroneShield working with event organisers, venues and authorities to enable anti-drone strategies to protect stadiums and commercial venues from unauthorised drones.
DroneShield helps to build counter-drone stadiums and venues with a range of world-leading C-UAS technology. Stationary and mobile devices provide security that is simply out of reach of human guards alone, specifically when dealing with threats at height and large spaces.
The AI-powered systems can ground UAS threats or return them to their pilots, record evidence of disruptions for legal use, and provide venues with real-time C-UAS information both within and outside their site.
Crucially, DroneShield technology offers ‘soft kill’ capabilities; smart jamming of radio frequencies (RF) instead of using bullets or lasers. This means it is primed for large areas, doesn’t create panic in a crowded environment, and eliminates the risk of collateral damage – it doesn’t even damage drones.
This makes counter-drone stadiums and venues safer and more secure for athletes, performers and spectators alike, and with DroneShield’s easy-to-integrate C-UAS technology, all of that security is ready to go out of the box. It is available as a permanent installation or temporary rental for single events.
Being easy to integrate with existing security protocols, DroneShield technology can be set up and taken down at speed, ensuring that temporary events spend as little time as possible without suitable C-UAS security.
Learn more about counter-drone stadiums or DroneShield for stadiums and commercial venues here.