You can never be too careful, especially if you have to face one of the most important sporting competitions ever. And one that is being organised in a country, the United States, agitated by various national and international tensions. And if we then talk about England, then things become further complicated. Because the national team of the Three Lions is led by Thomas Tuchel, a manager who obsessively attends to every detail. And he goes well beyond those strictly linked to the pitch: for example he has gone as far as asking his players to install saunas and hyperbaric chambers in their homes, to train in enormous heated tents or take Matrix-style pills. It is easy to think that the former coach of PSG and Bayern is also worried about the impenetrability of his own training camp in Kansas City, but from this point of view there is some good news: as reported by the Times, in fact, at England’s base camp, for the entire duration of the tournament there will be personnel specialised in the neutralisation of drones.
These professionals will be able to count on advanced technologies, including “hunter-catcher” drones designed to intercept and neutralise suspicious aircraft, preventing risks to security and from espionage activity. To fund these operations, which are technically defined as counter-UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), the Kansas City police have announced the use of federal funds. The measures will concern the stadium that will host the World Cup matches, the teams’ training camps and the public areas subject to a no-fly ban. In addition to England, Argentina, the Netherlands and Algeria too will have their own headquarters in the American city.
Leading the project will be DroneShield, a company specialised in aerial security, tasked by the local authorities. Tom Adams, a former anti-drone expert of the FBI and the company’s director of public safety, explained how drones are by now considered «the preferred weapon» by those who intend to strike high-profile events. Among the technologies envisaged are drones capable of capturing other aircraft by means of nets, devices for jamming radio frequencies and systems capable of taking control of a suspicious drone to make it land in a safe area.
According to Adams, the system will serve not only to protect teams and fans from possible threats, but also to prevent espionage operations during training sessions. A similar episode had occurred at the Paris 2024 Olympics, when the Canadian women’s national team was penalised by FIFA for having used a drone to observe New Zealand’s training sessions. «Drones represent a relatively cheap and versatile technology, capable of getting around many of the traditional physical security measures» declared Adams.
The expert, who in the past has worked on the protection of the Super Bowl, of the baseball World Series and of numerous marathons in the United States, underlined how, in situations of this type, it is often difficult to understand immediately the intentions of whoever is piloting a drone: «It could be a demonstrative gesture or a hostile action. The decisions have to be made in a few seconds». The security systems envisaged combine the detection and the neutralisation of threats. Radar, cameras and sensors will monitor the airspace around the protected areas, while the countermeasures may include physical interceptions, electronic jamming or the remote control of the suspicious aircraft. Adams also recalled that federal regulations prohibit the flying of drones over stadiums and sports facilities, but he admitted that many operators ignore such restrictions, while those who act with malicious intent will hardly take them into account.