Important First Orders Underscore Security Expertise
Rheinmetall has won two important first orders from the public security market for its RADSHIELD drone detection system.
In Switzerland, both the Lenzburg central prison and the Bostadel intercantonal penitentiary have ordered RADSHIELD. The objective is to be able to counter the increasing frequency of the use of drones to smuggle contraband such as weapons, tools, drugs and mobile phones into prisons – attempts that have been made almost weekly in Germany and for which the Swiss authorities are experiencing similar problems. The installations are due to become operational in the near future, the company announced on 12 April.
RADSHIELD consists of an array of video cameras, infrared sensors and radars – sophisticated surveillance systems which will monitor the grounds and airspace of these facilities day and night, detecting any flying object – not just drones but also model airplanes and balloons. Moreover, the system can also detect objects thrown over walls and fences, even when they measure only a few centimetres in diameter.
Owing to rapid advances in drone technology, electronic countermeasures such as active jamming no longer offer a reliable defence, and is in any case useless when objects are thrown over a wall or fence. RADSHIELD allows guards to monitor the fenced-in zone and other critical areas of the facility around the clock. As soon as a foreign object flies into the monitored area, prison personnel are warned immediately, enabling them to take rapid action, such as sealing off affected areas of the prison, evacuating and/or frisking prisoners, and searching parts of the facility.
