France investigates mystery drone activity over nuclear plants

[Bosonic]

Source: Reuters

France has launched an investigation into unidentified drones that have been spotted over nuclear plants operated by state-owned utility EDF (EDF.PA), its interior minister said on Thursday.

Seven nuclear plants across the country were flown over by drones between Oct. 5 and Oct. 20, an EDF spokeswoman said, without any impact on the plants' safety or functioning.

"There's a judicial investigation under way, measures are being taken to know what these drones are and neutralize them," Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told France Info radio on Thursday, without specifying the measures.

The drone sightings may renew concerns about the safety of nuclear plants in France, the world's most nuclear-reliant country with 58 reactors on 19 sites operated by EDF.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/30/us-edf-drones-idUSKBN0IJ0ZI20141030

[Demeter]

1. Next comes the anti-drone

and won't Uncle Stupid be pissed!

[Helen Borg]

6. Yup, we definitely need anti-drone drones!

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. So we can then build......

anti anti-drone drones.

and the beat goes on.......

[Helen Borg]

9. An entire industry sector is salivating right now...

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

12. They should be able to create a mini-Patriot rocket system.

That's always fun to watch!

[Feral Child]

2. Interesting.

Could be us, we have to assert our dominance over everyone, especially our allies.

Could be "Corporate", and that's an intriguing thought. I can see a future where the drones of rival conglomerates have running "dogfights", lighting up the skies above the corporate arcologies.

Sounds like a nice premise for a video game, too. I can't program so anybody can run with the concept that wants to. Please be kind and make some reference to "Feral Child" within the game, maybe a type of drone or something.

[ReRe]

3. I was thinking along the lines...

... of wee heat-seeking anti-drone missiles on top of towers surrounding the nuclear plants,
which would zap the drones into a thousand tiny harmless pieces.

[freshwest]

4. I was thinking of ISIL, actually. There's bad blood between them and France, and they do have some

air capacity as reported from Syria with ex-Iraqi pilots doing runs from an occupied area there.

And this doesn't specify what kind of drones they can't identify. All nations have them now, and private organizations such as the anti-whaling Sea Shepherd have built them to go across miles of ocean. Amateurs are flying them in the USA for whatever reason, some just curiosity, others for business or making videos over areas they can't get access into.

Could be ISIL or some other group preparing to do something. The technology is not confined to the hands of government or corporate only. That is something that is a bogeyman, the reality is more disturbing with no central entity to focus on.

The idea that heat sinking missiles would be able to zap drones with almost no heat signature may not work, either as you suggest. There's more heat at a nuke plant itself. It depends on whether the goal is to contaminate an area or to destroy infrastructure that civil society and authority depend on to avoid chaos.

The first danger is that of an explosive dropped into a critical area of a nuclear complex. Or use of an EMF weapon, used to take power grids out of action. Taking out a power plant can allow other activities or ambushes to occur while the power is off line.

It's been done by cartels in Mexico to take over towns, blow up the power station, then attack targets such as the police station and radio and phone communications to put them out of action. That way people could not organize to resist.

Then cartels occupied the towns and made the citizens do what they wanted. The same as what ISIL has done.

Aren't we humans just so very clever...

[ReRe]

10. I'm sorry, freshwest...

I was really just being a child for a moment. Should have added the sarcasm thingy or the little chuckle thingy. I do understand. This is a mad, mad world. I wasn't even aware of how the criminals are using them in Mexico.

[freshwest]

11. Oh, no, they didn't use drones. Just plain old bombs. And it's all good. Gave me a chance to think.

[ReRe]

14. Okey-dokey ;-) n/t

[Feral Child]

5. Cool!

That, too.

[Blue_Tires]

13. Why would the U.S. use a drone when we can see everything from satellite?

[Feral Child]

15. It was a joke,

apparently not a very good joke...

[jtuck004]

7. Just the new order of plutonium from Amazon-Nuclear. n/t