The NDA is committed to accelerating the removal of Britain’s oldest atomic infrastructure.
Four security systems are now being trialled at Winfrith, a location which was used to trial nuclear reactors. The technologies can autonomously detect breaches, and employ both unmanned ground vehicles and unmanned aerial systems.
Valued at £2million, the NDA project is being delivered in partnership with the Defence and Security Accelerator team and the Nuclear Restoration Services [NRS]. Work will continue throughout the year in a bid to evaluate and gauge how well the systems perform in operational settings and opportunities for adaptation to meet current security protocol and bring costs down. Four external suppliers are being used for the project, Operational Solutions Ltd, Espanaro Ltd, ISS Aerospace and Archangel Imaging.
‘This project marks an exciting milestone in our commitment to innovation, utilising cutting-edge technology to improve threat detection and response,’ said Andrew Gray, Innovation Delivery Manager at the NDA. ‘These demonstrator programmes are key in delivering benefit groupwide, capturing and sharing learning so that future deployments can be accelerated. It is the first large-scale active demonstrator on a NRS site.
‘Winfrith has been selected as it’s a lower risk site where we’ve removed most of the hazardous material, so that when traditional nuclear security measures are no longer proportionate, we can move quickly and reduce costs overall in the longer term,’ he continued. ‘The insights gained throughout the trial will be invaluable in exploring how these systems could be deployed in real-world applications, potentially revolutionising security operations.’
Image: Mick De Paola / Unsplash
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