6. Keep your human operators in good shape:
A tool is only as good as the person wielding it. Ensure your security team has a comprehensive training program emphasizing flight skills, situational awareness, threat recognition, and data interpretation. Also, such training and skill development should be continuous and repeated regularly. It will help ensure operators can effectively utilize the technology at their disposal and improve security as time passes rather than rely on outdated practices and protocols. Encourage the team to learn about new technologies and speak up about opportunities. Did you know acoustic sensors can drastically enhance situational awareness in areas with limited visibility, providing proper setup and analytics?
7. Don't neglect maintenance and redundancy:
As with most other processes, a sustainable maintenance and inspection regime needs to be implemented. It will help ensure the drones remain in optimal operating condition. Some measures should include backup drones and spare parts availability to minimize disruptions and ensure uninterrupted surveillance capabilities. The same applies to payloads, so if you use seismic sensors to detect potential underground activities, then regular calibration and testing are a must.
8. Legal and Regulatory Compliance:
While using technology for security purposes is "generally" acceptable, there are a lot of laws, regulations, and privacy considerations governing the use of drones in border and object control operations. Ensure compliance with airspace regulations, privacy protection requirements, and any permits or licenses necessary for operating UAVs in the designated area. If used in regions like Europe, where GDPR and several other acts strictly govern biometric identification systems, take extra care. Failing to adhere to data protection laws may backfire spectacularly in case of legal action against perpetrators. This includes examining where/if the UAV platform provider has access to data or, potentially, copies it.
9. Collaboration with other stakeholders:
This is slightly counterintuitive but extremely important: talk to your peers and exchange insights and ideas. Where applicable, you can cooperate with your literal neighbors and establish joint monitoring operations. This will boost efficiency and affect final project costs, as ordering hardware, software and maintenance in bulk can bring significant savings. Obviously, you need this cooperation to be smart and strategic, with proper security protocols, NDAs, and contingency plans in place. After all, the best security is the hidden one, and the fewer know about your secret, the safer it will be. Also, if you are in the private sector, don't hesitate to work with police and security agencies. In most cases, they are happy to share insights and, potentially, even run audits/penetration tests for free for you to ensure national security.
10. Always evaluate and adapt:
Last but not least, evaluate the effectiveness of drone-based monitoring operations through feedback loops, performance metrics, and lessons learned. Continuously adapt and refine strategies, technologies, and operational procedures to address emerging challenges and utilize technological advancements. Unfortunately, attackers are often a step ahead, so it's imperative to keep updating your security posture and capabilities.
Some warnings
UAVs bring many excellent capabilities, but there are also some pitfalls. Most are natural, but it's essential to be aware of these to avoid a false sense of security:
1. Complex environments can be a significant issue:
While UAVs equipped with advanced sensors such as LiDAR and thermal cameras will enhance your surveillance ops, they may still face limitations in areas with dense vegetation or urban areas with high-rise buildings. Make sure to supplement such locations with ground surveillance radars, acoustic sensors, or seismic sensors. These will complement UAV data by providing additional detection capabilities in challenging terrain or low visibility conditions.
2. UAVs are not immune to weather:
Inclement weather can impact UAV operations, especially in mountain and water-front regions. This might mean your entire UAV fleet will be grounded due to a 30 m/s wind on any given day. The two steps you can take: Work with your UAV provider to ensure a realistic picture of the drone's operational limits; provide some kind of backup solution, even if suboptimal, like ground as mentioned above surveillance radars or fiber optic intrusion detection systems, which are less susceptible to weather conditions.
3. They are also not immune to electronic warfare either:
UAVs are susceptible to countermeasures, but this goes both ways. You can implement drone detection and countermeasure systems to mitigate the risk of unauthorized intruder drone activities, which can disrupt your UAV operations, as can the offenders. Take a complex approach, as mentioned in the previous point.
4. Be careful with budgeting:
Maintaining a fleet of UAVs can be expensive if you have to take care of large territories. Various sensors and payloads can also cost a small fortune with an added twist: many security-related items can be considered dual-use articles, meaning they fall under unique government controls. This can potentially create a situation where your supplier of choice is suddenly unable to supply you with upgrades, etc., creating new issues for your budget and security posture. This is why it's often a good idea to keep a healthy supply of spare parts and drones in case of a shortage. You might be stuck with older versions of hard- and software, but at least you will not stand unprotected.