The growing sophistication, availability, and adaptability of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as “drones,” have made them both an emerging capability and threat for nuclear security. From a nuclear security threat perspective, modern UAVs come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, cost, and capabilities. Given the rapid growth in the drone industry and availability of systems, it is difficult to know how to do design a solution for present threats and even more difficult to determine how effective a solution to the threat today will work for future threats. High endurance, high payload capability, autonomous, single or swarms of UAV(s) will become increasingly difficult to protect against and will require advanced Counter-Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (CUAV) technology and policies. Security may need to shift their focus from solely ground based threats to both ground and airborne threats, and this requires new physical security methods and technologies to ensure the protection of nuclear facilities or material in transit.
Greater understanding and assessment of UAV threats are needed for the development of threat basis, legal and regulatory approaches, specifications, and deployment and operation of nuclear security countermeasures.
The Technical Meeting on Nuclear Security Countermeasures for Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles will address the current state of UAV platforms, payloads, and capabilities and discuss how a CUAV capability (technology and policy) can be developed and deployed to address current and future nuclear security threats.
