DSNA, Groupe ADP and Thales present HOLOGARDE a unique long-range solution for protecting sensitive sites from malicious drones

Drone traffic in the vicinity of airports is growing exponentially. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), identified in its latest report over 1,400 drone incidents in Europe during 2016, compared to 606 incidents between 2011 and 2015. Airports, like other sensitive sites, are locations for which safety and security must be of the utmost importance.

In response to this imminent need to protect sensitive sites, DSNA, Groupe ADP, and Thales have decided to pool together their expertise for the development of the solution HOLOGARDE, presented during the World Air Traffic Management Congress held in Madrid on March 7, 2018.

The HOLOGARDE solution is currently deployed at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, one of the 10 largest airports in the world, after a successful experimental installation at the International Paris Air Show at Paris-Le Bourget in June 2017, which saw the detection, tracking and identification of 131 test drones at a distance of 5 km during the week-long event. 

Beyond the pioneering technology, HOLOGARDE relies on the partnership between these key stakeholders representing industry, air navigation services and airport operations to provide diverse perspective to the solution’s multidimensional ConOps. The result of this collaborative work: a solution tested, enhanced and proven by working closely with end users, available for delivery to clients worldwide before the end of 2018. 

"The agile and robust development process of HOLOGARDE integrates next-generation sensors into an innovative control system. HOLOGARDE leverages the expertise of air navigation together with our industry and airport partners, to deliver an operational solution capable of protecting against undesired drone intrusions,” explained Maurice Georges, Director DSNA.

"The development of drones for complex use is an opportunity, as shown by their daily use at Groupe ADP within the airports we manage (inspection of runways, aircraft bridges, thermographic analysis, monitoring of technical galleries, etc.) Their development, especially in proximity to sensitive areas like runways, nevertheless presents risks that must be controlled. HOLOGARDE positions us at the forefront of global innovation in aeronautics, combining the expertise of Groupe ADP and French civil aviation, with the technology of Thales and Toulousian start-up Innov’ATM,” highlighted Edward Arkwright, Deputy CEO for Groupe ADP. 

“We help our customers deal with the intrusion of malicious drones within the complex environment of their infrastructures, enabling quick, effective decisions at every decisive moment. Thales’s takeover of Aveillant last November allows the solution HOLOGARDE to integrate world-leading technology in the field of holographic radar. We are working today to further increase the range of HOLOGARDE both with our radar and means of neutralization,” indicated Serge Adrian, Thales Senior Vice President for surface radar activities.