Corps Security discusses how integrating drones, into existing surveillance layers, enhances the capabilities to monitor spaces where fixed systems fall short.

Drones: A protective solution

Imagine a sprawling pharmaceutical estate: Products in development in one building, warehouses optimised for temperature in another and a fleet of vans incoming and outgoing daily.

Organisations need to protect stock, specialist equipment and raw materials against hostile assailants and require precise, robust emergency response procedures.

For sites like these total surveillance, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is a complex task.

Drones offer a new protective layer to that solution.

Aerial patrols enhance security strategy by integrating with existing layers to cast a protective eye from the sky.

Built-in enhancements enable rapid incident response, automated perimeter checks and night-time thermal capabilities.

Drones complement existing security patrols and remote monitoring with above-ground-level surveillance and are especially useful in situations unsafe for humans.

This technology addresses vulnerability head-on to achieve total security for people and property.

Enhancing and advancing monitoring capabilities

It’s common for perimeters to feature dense shrubbery or railway lines that assailants can find cover in.

Across corporate headquarters, construction sites, ports and event spaces, covered terrain creates blind spots for CCTV networks and officers may only pass through vulnerable areas periodically during shifts.

Drone technology addresses these challenges through features tailored to each site’s specific needs.

Drones target key vulnerable areas, acting as a visual deterrent that discourages potential intruders or vandals. Scheduling automated patrols can provide round-the-clock surveillance and operator-controlled patrols allow for fast-action incident response.

When paired with enhanced digital zoom cameras and thermal imaging, night-time visibility can detect undercover assailants clearly on camera.

Depending on the operating system, analytics can distinguish between real and false alarms and AI detection differentiates between individuals and objects, such as cars.

AI smart-tracking can also lock onto intruders and follow their pathways more comprehensively than static CCTV cameras.

If a space is changing, drones are scalable too – they can be reprogrammed depending on the task at hand, like patrolling an expanded area or conducting an infrastructure inspection.

These systems operate efficiently in extreme temperatures exceeding 50°C, making them ideal for high-temperature storage facilities.

AI detection can also use thermal imaging to discern heat signatures between potential assailants and heated infrastructure, like a factory generator.

Modern drone surveillance offers operational flexibility, so no matter the space, drone systems meet the challenges posed.

Estate collaboration and adaptability

Organisations need to work closely with security partners to identify site vulnerabilities.

A trial should identify key concerns before implementation; and these don’t just include security applications; the technology can support functional day-to-day operations too.

For example, some sites with solar panels require monthly inspections, but these spaces are difficult to reach and often require a third party to place people at a height and undertake a survey.

Drone surveillance can review these areas, reducing third-party requirements and streamlining the supply chain.

In emergency situations, like fire monitoring or hazardous spills, drones can also address the dangerous and hard-to-reach areas without putting officers and staff at risk.

Case study: Enhancing a steelworks’ security perimeter

For a multinational steel-making company’s extensive facility, Corps Security, in partnership with drone manufacturer Security Drone Group, implemented a 24-hour drone trial to address vulnerabilities at the critical national infrastructure site. Static CCTV systems had reduced coverage of the full perimeter and poor visibility during night shifts, making high-value scrap materials difficult to monitor.

A DJI Dock 3 and M4TD drone system featuring AI capabilities was implemented, which resulted in:

• Improvement in security coverage by 500% compared to traditional security patrols
• Enhanced response time and 45-second trigger response – identifying test subjects in vulnerable areas that would have been impossible to monitor with traditional methods
• Nighttime thermal imaging identifying unauthorised personnel beyond the 15-20m limit of vehicle headlights
• Programmed flight paths covering roof inspections, which were uploaded directly to cloud storage for assessment
• 3D point cloud technology allowing for stockpile measurement within 10mm accuracy
• Number plate recognition for identifying known and unknown vehicles

The trial demonstrated how drones significantly advance monitoring capabilities and support infrastructure assessments.

Robust compliance

Security drones should be designed to fly safely over populated areas.

Operators also need to ensure full compliance with data protection and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations, a space that is undergoing significant changes. 

In April, the CAA introduced the Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA), replacing the previous Operating Safety Case methodology.

SORA is intended to make risk assessments for Unmanned Aircraft System Operators (UAS Operators) transparent, consistent, and streamlined.

Under SORA, drone operating organisations can apply for permissions through an online digital application process, with a quantitative approach.

SORA considers Ground Risk Class (GRC) – the risk of hitting a person on the ground -and Air Risk Class (ARC) – the risk of mid-air collision with manned aircraft.

These measures form a Specific Assurance and Integrity Level (SAIL), which determines operational safety objectives and compliance requirements before granting operational authorisation.

The SAIL results also inform other factors, including an operation’s containment levels, the operational safety objectives and containment requirements.

Organisations must demonstrate compliance with these different factors.

The CAA is also in the process of updating its Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) policy, where drones with operational authorisation can be flown without being directly in the operator’s line of sight.

This allows for remote operation from experts.

UAS, GRC, ARC, SAIL and BVLOS may seem complex, but specialist partners handle all compliance aspects to ensure safe, legal operation.

The future of site surveillance

As organisations grow and premises become increasingly complex, security threats have become more sophisticated.

Utilising advanced technology like drones to accompany ground-based monitoring is evolving protection for people and property.

Drone security is best secured by a security partner that knows its customer properties through and through.

Seamlessly coordinating both aerial surveillance and on-site officers creates a unified defence strategy that eliminates coverage gaps.

Advanced drone technology delivers scalable security solutions that adapt to the unique challenges of modern estates, whether they are corporate locations, ports, hospitals, warehouses or construction or industrial sites.

With eyes in the skies, security providers can deliver cost-effective solutions in the long-term, setting the foundation for new, intelligent surveillance ecosystems.

The benefit? Safer and more secure spaces where people can go about their daily life with the comfort of added security.

This article was originally published in the October edition of Security Journal UK. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.