England's World Cup base to be patrolled by 'hunter-catcher' drones to stop rivals spying

England's World Cup base will be patrolled by security guards armed with ‘hunter-catcher’ drones to stop rival teams spying on training. The hi-tech devices catch illicit drones in a net to stop snoops filming Three Lions’ warm-ups at their tournament HQ in Kansas City. Guards will also deploy anti-drone guns that can jam pilot-free crafts’ control and navigation systems. Other tech allows security chiefs to take over a suspicious drone and land it where they want.

Former FBI anti-drone specialist Tom Adams - now director of public safety at DroneShield which will police Kansas City’s skies - said the remote-controlled craft were now seen as ‘the weapon of choice’ for those wanting to target events. As well as protecting teams and the public from ‘nefarious’ operators the anti-drone system will also target any efforts to spy on training sessions. Canada’s women’s team had six points deducted by FIFA for using a drone to spy on New Zealand’s training at the 2024 Olympics in France. It comes days after Southampton were booted out of the Championship play-off for low-tech snooping on three rival teams.

Adams said his anti-drone tech - which he has deployed at protect America’s Superbowl, baseball’s World Series and US marathons - was originally designed to combat terror threats. But it was now needed to fight sporting snooping too. He said: “Drones are a lower-cost piece of technology that have a variety of different uses and can overcome some of the traditional physical security requirements so it is certainly a weapon of choice. “In these types of operations you don’t know what the intent of the drone is - nefarious or someone trying to make a political statement. “It’s a very dynamic and challenging part of the security apparatus. You could have to make a decision in seconds.

Now we have to add the sportsmanship threat to the drones. “We wouldn’t have thought of that initially.” He said he will deploy drone detection technology - including cameras and radar - to spot suspicious craft. Then he will unleash ‘defeat technology’ - including hunter-catchers which fly up and capture drones in a net. “A non-kinetic option could be radio-frequency jamming, or some technologies can take over a drone and make it land in a specific location,” he said. “There are a lot of federal laws that prevent drones flying over certain stadiums and venues. “Unfortunately, a lot of people who are careless or clueless don’t pay attention to those flight restrictions while those who have nefarious intent aren’t going to worry about that at all.” England manager Thomas Tuchel has already expressed concerns around rival nations attempting to monitor training sessions during the tournament. He said the Football Association was taking steps to keep preparations as private as possible at the Three Lions’ training base at Swope Soccer Village. “Of course it’s crucial if you train the day before a game and you do your team build-ups, your set-pieces, your penalties,” he said. “You don’t want the opponent to know. It gives you a crucial advantage.

So we’re trying to be as private as possible. “We will have security there and we will build a bit of protection.” Concerns surrounding spying at international tournaments are not new. During the 2018 World Cup Sweden were forced to apologise after allegations emerged they had watched South Korea’s training sessions. France also raised concerns over drones reportedly hovering above training facilities during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Major Greg Williams, of the Kansas City Police Department, said: “Protecting a World Cup requires a level of airspace co-ordination that most cities have never had to think about before. “We’ve thought about it - deeply - and what we’ve built here is a system that works for FIFA and keeps working long after the final match.”