A drone was confiscated this week after it entered a restricted flight zone established during the visit of the Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales to Liverpool.
Merseyside Police confirmed the breach, noting the zone had been implemented as part of security measures while the aircraft carrier is docked at Liverpool Cruise Terminal.
The drone was detected on Wednesday by officers from Merseyside Police and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Authorities swiftly located the drone operator and seized the device. An investigation into the incident is now underway.
An interview with HMS Prince of Wales’ Captain Will Blackett
HMS Prince of Wales, affiliated with Liverpool, is one of the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy. The vessel is in the city for a seven-day visit, departing on Monday. Capable of carrying up to 40 aircraft, the ship is currently preparing for deployment to the Indo-Pacific region next year.
LATEST | A temporary flight restriction zone, specifically affecting drones, has been imposed above #Liverpool city centre while HMS Prince of Wales is docked at Liverpool Cruise Terminal.
It will be in place until 10am next Mon (9 Dec). Read more here:https://t.co/zs5ZDWMDyR pic.twitter.com/wlJPKsALy2
— MerPol Liverpool City Centre (@MerPolCityCen) December 3, 2024
A temporary flight restriction zone has been imposed over Liverpool city centre for the duration of the ship’s visit. The restricted airspace extends to a height of 2,000ft above sea level and will remain in place until 10am on Monday, 9 December.
Merseyside Police issued a statement reminding drone operators of their legal obligations:
“We would like to remind all UAS (unmanned aerial systems) operators of their responsibility to follow the regulations set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Failure to do so could result in the seizure of your drone or prosecution.”
These restrictions are part of the broader security operation designed to ensure the safety of both the public and the vessel during its time in Liverpool.
Confiscate the drone, massive financial fine and a ban on operating such thing in the future. Set the bar for either dangerous operation (airports) or national security.
Ignorance of the law governing drone operation no defence when operating drones.
AA
I think that’s a bit harsh when it was a temporary ban, yes a fine and confiscation, but not what you talk of in that circumstance. Permanent bans around military airports (airports generally indeed) or military sites yes come down very heavily as there’s no excuse.
Intent / data collection /additional risks, in sensitive areas requires draconian responses. Simply taking a photo in an airport can result in detention for years in some countries. If in doubt don’t do it. And if your not in any doubt, when invading the space of a military unit, you probably need to be locked up….
Probably an Everton supporter?
Could have been a good public testing of the Phalanx CIWS.
Are they fitted? They should just take them off the Albions.
Neither Albion or Bulwark has had them fitted for a long time, both QE and PoW have all mounts occupied.
Not a good idea to fire APDS rounds into civilian sectors.
Do not forget that maybe more than 10000 died from flak in the Blitz.
AlexS, it’s Liverpool. No harm would be done and both the national Benefits bill and crime rate would reduce significantly.
Sod it, who needs a drone to open fire, when it’s Liverpool?
Intel has entered a new era, the only plus ➕️ is it’s the same for everyone, the playing field is level, even an E.M.P. would effect everything in the area, friend or foe.
♾️❤️☮️
Time to test out Dragonfire and give these things a zap!!!?
That’s a useful aspect of Dragonfire actually, you don’t have to worry about where the shells will land.
When I worked on the landing stage for a ferry company, you were guaranteed to hear/see drones pretty much every night shift when a cruise ship was in or filming the Liver building. I was also there when the POW last docked in Liverpool, and the company had to submit our names for background checks at a certain time before the carrier came in, (I’m not going to say) they did certain checks on the landing stage and around the area. Ironically, we were scheduled to do firearms and bomb identification training, but we couldn’t do it because the trainer, well, would have disappeared if they found a car full of deactivated firearms, knives, and fake training devices.
As is my want, just ban them from civilian use. Simple solution. Now wait for the triggered.
Ah, but where will we find thousands of off the shelf experienced drone operators come the next conflict?…..
The nerds around me are all older/middle aged blokes who would be best suited to a compost heap. And the younger end get involved in an actual shooting war? Thanks for the laugh.
Don’t be silly John; there are multiple valuable civilian uses for drone operations, across many industries.