D-day is getting closer. On July 26, 2024, the Paris Olympic Games will begin under the sign of festivity for some. For others, this event sets off all security alarms, as several experts told us during the Milipol exhibition held in Villepinte (Seine-Saint-Denis).
In each edition, this international meeting of law enforcement agencies focuses on everyday technologies that appear as potential threats during the Games. Far from the topics of this meeting, weapons represent less than 10% of the exhibitors. Currently, most stands offer technologies.
A market that grows by 22.5%
At the center of the risks are drones, which are the subject of special attention by the Ministry of the Interior, of course, but also by the Armed Forces, which have been entrusted with the fight against drones for the Olympic Games. 2024.
In 2022, the French drone and anti-drone combat market accelerated with an increase of 22.5% to reach 106 million euros, according to a study carried out by the specialized magazine “In all safety”. In 2023, this sector is expected to increase by another 24%. In the case of cybersecurity, the market reached 6.1 billion euros in 2002, with an increase of 9%. In 2023, the increase will reach 11%.
These risks have been taken very seriously for several years by law enforcement and the military. They already have drones to monitor, attack and provide assistance. “These are important issues for the gendarmerie,” confirms Commander Arnaud, of the Gendarmerie General Staff.
Vader and anti-drone rifles
The gendarmerie is already equipped with very special pistols and rifles. They are capable of interfering with the Wi-Fi or GPS signal between the remote control and the drone. The flying machine will not fall on the crowd. You will be immobilized and when your battery is almost depleted, a safety device from the manufacturer will gently land you on a landing point. This rifle allows you to intercept drones at an altitude of approximately 1000 meters. At the same time, a police officer will be able to geolocate the remote pilot to apprehend him.
For its part, the military will also have Helma-P, an anti-drone laser developed by Cilas, a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, in case of urgent threats. This system, already tested by the General Directorate of Armaments, is capable of neutralizing “100% of its objectives,” according to the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Helma-P is designed to detect machines weighing up to 100 kilos at a distance of up to 3 kilometers and reach them up to 1 km away. This laser, with a power of 2 kilowatts, can also “dazzle” a drone by saturating its optical sensors.
The police are not left out. RAID police officers, also involved in the anti-drone fight for the 2024 Olympic Games, have at their disposal Vaders, a “fast operational anti-drone vehicle”. These are armored Mercedes vans. Inside there is an authentic mobile control room equipped with technology to detect the drone. The police officers of this unit will take control of the machine and block the connections with its teleoperators using the Nerod anti-drone rifle designed by the French company MC2 Technologie.
Also protect anti-drone technologies
At the heart of the devices, artificial intelligence is present to prevent errors and protect anti-drone systems from cyberattacks that could disrupt them or even render them inoperable.
And for this expert, one of the priorities is to secure these artificial intelligences that, if it is necessary to protect, can in turn become vulnerable. “We must prevent these vulnerabilities to prevent them from being attracted.”
This essential security for the 2024 Olympic Games comes at an increasingly high cost. It could even increase the bill for the event, which has already gone from 6.6 billion euros in 2017 to 8 billion. Of this amount, the guarantee, which was initially estimated at 250 million euros, could eventually reach 500 million.
Source: BFM TV
