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Six drones were recently reported to police after being spotted over a British nuclear power plant. According to newly released information, this incident remains unexplained. The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were seen over Capenhurst in Cheshire. This was disclosed by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), a specialist armed police service.
Two sparse reports at Capenhurst relate to sighting which were made within a period of four days in July of 2019. The first describes a “report of 6 drones flying over and around the site” which holds a nuclear license. The second report includes a log released by the government suggesting that there had been a ‘swarm’ incident at a nuclear facility on an unspecified date. (A swarm incident is defined as situation where interlinked drones take part in the same operation or attack.)
The list of incursions into airspaces above or near U.K. facilities also include reports of ‘flashing lights in the sky’ from an object which was not identified. Some details of the reports were redacted.
Peter Burt posts on the Drone Wars U.K. platform. He said, “Some of the incidents listed are probably just cases of careless flying by individual drone operators, but others, if accurate, seem far more malicious in their intent – such as the report of several drones flying over and around the Capenhurst uranium enrichment site in July 2019. In the majority of the cases, the police were unable to positively identify aircraft or pilots, highlighting the difficulties in countering the use of drones for illegal purposes.”
Altogether, there were eleven reports of unauthorized aerial incursions at U.K. nuclear facilities between May of 2019 and November of 2021 in a list which was disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act. The latest reported incursion was at Springfield, near Preston in Lancashire. The log reads: “Report of flashing lights in the sky which was described as a low flying object overflying the site. No craft or pilot positively identified.” Other reports of UAV activity relater to Heysham which is also in Lancashire and Sellafield located on the coast of Cumbria.
Burt said, “Drones are a relatively new technology with potential to disrupt traditional security approaches. They are easily available and can be bought by anyone to use for criminal purposes. Drones bought off-the-shelf have been adapted to deliver weapons by a number of non-state groups during conflicts in the Middle East, and in the Ukraine war we have seen how even the simplest drones can be used for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering. It’s encouraging to see that the police are willing to publish information on this issue, which helps us to understand the nature and scale of threats to nuclear security. If we are not able to safeguard nuclear power stations effectively from such threats, then we do need to consider using alternative, safer means of power generation.”
The U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD) has released separate information about drone activity under the Freedom of Information Act.