An anti-drone system used for the first time during this year’s Formula One Chinese Grand Prix has proved its worth.
According to Shanghai armed police, the system detected a drone entering the Shanghai International Circuit area at 1pm on April 9 — one hour before the F1 race started.
After reporting to the command center, police used the system’s electromagnetic interference function and forced the drone to land within a minute. “A drone could threaten racers’ safety once it lands on the circuit,” said Xu Lianzong, a spokesman for the armed police. “Its electromagnetic interference will also affect some technical operations during the race.”
Although no details of the actual drone were released, drones could have threatened broadcasting operations as well as those of medical helicopters in the F1 circuit.
Drones are frequently used in aerial photography, video shooting and for communications and meteorological observation. However, they have also been blamed for causing accidents.
The anti-drone safety control system, called Airborne, was developed by Shanghai Ziyu Electronic Technology Company.
