Dedrone CUAS Solutions Ensuring Airspace Security for Australia's Largest Events

Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, was the host for some high-profile outdoor events in 2024, including the Australian Open Tennis, the Australian Formula One Grand Prix (F1GP), Land Forces Conference and some of Taylor Swift’s biggest concerts, with crowds of up to 116,000 a night. However, these events have faced challenges with drone incursions. At the 2024 F1GP, for example, one drone had a close call with a VIP helicopter and no-fly restrictions were consistently transgressed by drone pilots seeking to breach temporary flight restriction zones.

Ahead of these events, State and Federal Police had anticipated drone incursions based on past experiences and sought a networked solution to detect, track, and identify (DTI) both DJI and non-DJI drones, with the capability to mitigate these drones if necessary; their overarching aim being to reduce risk and ensure the safety of the airspace, fans / employees, stadiums and performers / athletes.

For the 2024 season, a combined team of Police from across Australia implemented several Dedrone CUAS solutions, including DedroneFixedSite and DedroneRapidResponse, for their largest high-profile events, ensuring robust airspace security.

Key deployments included:

• Australian Open – More than 1 million spectators over two weeks.
• Australian F1 Grand Prix - 452,000 attendees over four days, including 135,000 on each weekend racing day.
• Taylor Swift's Eras Tour at the MCG - 96,000 spectators per concert (x3) and around 20,000 people outside the venue.
• ASEAN Summit - noted as the largest deployment of CUAS personnel and technology in Australian history.
• Land Forces 2024 - the biggest police operation in Melbourne since the 2000 World Economic Forum.

At all events, chaser teams and mitigation effectors were strategically placed around the sites for rapid response to any detections, resulting in several interceptions of drones and their pilots.

Australian Police significantly reduced the number of drone incursions and successfully interdicted more drone pilots than ever before, leveraging both Dedrone counter-drone solutions and effective first-responder protocols. Dedrone's solutions enabled the precise location of both drone and its controller, further enhancing law enforcement capabilities to protect public safety.

This success has been amplified by the collaboration between every Australian State Police and Federal Police force, Department of Home Affairs, and Department of Defence. As a result, the networked threat detection concept has been proven, establishing Dedrone as the backbone of a national DTI (Detect, Track, and Identify) counter-drone network.