CerbAir shortlisted to provide anti-drone solutions for the Olympic Games in 2024

Boulogne-Billancourt, January 20^th, 2020 – An evaluation committee made up of representatives of various ministries and infrastructure operators shortlisted CerbAir as a potential supplier of counter drone solutions for major public and sports events such as the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. This program is mandated by the French General Secretariat of Defense and National Security (SGDSN) and was organized by the SAFE cluster in February 2019. 

A day of presentations was organized on Avignon airport on October 16^th, 2019. This included a full-scale demonstration which consisted of implementing anti-drone systems in the context of several operational scenarios. The portable “Manpack” solution developed by CerbAir and used by special units across the World, has been selected as a potential solution to secure large events. Weighing less than 12 kg, the miniaturized anti drone arsenal is the only portable solution on the market offering drone and pilot detection, identification, location and neutralization features.

Thanks to its technologies based on radio frequency analysis integrated into its stationary, mobile, on-board, or portable anti-drone systems, CerbAir can detect the presence of any malevolent civilian drones up to 2 kilometers away. Once a threat is detected, jamming and hacking countermeasures can immediately neutralize it by forcing the drones to land.

In the professional sports environment, the news evoking criminal acts involving malicious drones are now a regular concern for organizers. The examples are multiplying and malicious drones have been used for purposes such as:

• Economic intelligence: spying on national teams’ trainings (e.g., the Brazilian football team suspected of spying on Peru’s team on 6/22/19 during the Copa de America).

• Transmission rights hacking: streaming a ceremony or event via a drone (e.g., a malicious drone entered Camp Nou at 20:59 on 07/12/2019 during a soccer game between FC Barcelona – Real Mallorca).

• Terrorist risk / “hacktivism” during a competition (e.g., drones delivered leaflets during an NFL game between the Seattle Seahawks and the 49^ers on 11/27/2017).

Photos courtesy CerbAir