High-tech sea drones packed with cameras and sensors powered by the sun and waves are being deployed to protect Britain’s coastline from people traffickers. Secret trials of the drones have taken place and the UK Border Force is monitoring the results, The Mail on Sunday has been told. The 16ft-long craft can see vessels over a five-mile radius using optical lenses that can magnify an image by 30-fold, while their acoustic sensors pick up engine noises from the smugglers’ boats. How the sea drones being trialed by UK Border Force work The drones, which are built from fibreglass and weigh 550lb, are expected to provide a much-needed boost to border officials, who have just three vessels to patrol more than 7,000 miles of coastline. Traffickers, who charge migrants up to £10,000 to come to Britain, are routinely exploiting weaknesses in the UK’s sea defences. Last month, police revealed that hundreds of migrants have landed on beaches around Britain, or been smuggled into small ports. In June, three Iranians were rescued in waters off Hastings, East Sussex, after their boat sank. And in May, an Albanian family had to be rescued off the Kentish coast after their boat capsized. A British man was also arrested in Chichester, West Sussex, on suspicion he helped 17 Albanians cross the Channel in a catamaran. Drone expert Bill Briggs, from the research company Qinetiq, said: ‘These drones are probably best acting as a tripwire. ‘You could have a line of them operating networked together. They see something and report it back to an aircraft or shore station and that cues something that is a bit bigger and a bit faster [to intervene].’ The drones, which cost tens of thousands of pounds each, can remain at sea for several months at a time. Shipwreck of an overcrowded boat of migrants off the Libyan coast in May this year. Migrants have been travelling to the UK and landing on beach or being smuggled into small ports They travel across the surface using fins powered by the action of the waves – and solar power for camera and communications. Live video footage is relayed to land-based operators and infra-red cameras mean the drones can provide 24-hour protection against traffickers approaching the coast. One drone being tested is called the AutoNaut. Karen Weech from Vreo Innovation, which makes the drone’s cameras and communications systems, said: ‘The AutoNaut has quickly generated a high degree of interest from governments and law enforcement agencies who recognise the benefits of establishing vision capability off-shore.’ A Home Office spokesman said last night: ‘The UK Border Force is continuously looking at ways to enhance the security of UK maritime borders.’
Solar- and wave-powered sea drones equipped with cameras and sensors may soon be deployed to protect the British coastline from people traffickers. The unmanned boats are being developed by a company called Ocean Shield Technologies in Poole, Dorset. Drones such as Vreo Innovation’s AutoNaut have gained interest from government and law-enforcement agencies, with the UK Border Force reportedly monitoring the results of secret trials of this technology.