"Over the pitch-black fields of central France, a drone arcs into the night sky, its infrared camera scanning a railway line below. The mission: deter thieves who strip copper cables from train tracks -- a crime that costs millions and disrupts traffic. To tackle the chaos caused by the incessant theft of cables running along its 28,000 kilometres of railway tracks, France's national rail operator SNCF deploys drones similar to those now used to survey frontlines in war-torn Ukraine."
"Copper -- nicknamed "red gold" -- is prized on the black market, now fetching close to €10,000 a ton. French start-up Delair supplies SNCF's fleet of 200 drones and sells to the Ukrainian military as well. During a recent nighttime demonstration in Artenay, around 80 kilometres south of Paris, a drone launched carrying two cameras, one infrared, to be eyes in the night."
"Launched in 2017, the rail group now deploys drones for nearly 2,000 flights a year to check the condition of railway infrastructure, with 200 dedicated solely to security. On the ground in Artenay, a worker spots glowing two-legged figures on a control screen. They are near the rails, moving towards an abandoned station. When people are spotted near the tracks, railway police are dispatched and most often only find employees working on the lines, but sometimes, they send a thief running."
Drones equipped with infrared cameras patrol France's 28,000 kilometres of railway to deter and detect copper cable theft that costs millions and disrupts services. SNCF operates about 200 drones dedicated to security and conducts nearly 2,000 flights yearly to inspect infrastructure and monitor for crime. Copper, nicknamed "red gold," commands high black-market prices and motivates organised networks to cut and haul wiring for resale. French start-up Delair supplies many of the drones and also sells to Ukraine. Night surveillance identifies suspicious figures and prompts railway police responses, leading to several gang neutralisations and at least one capture.
Read at The Local France
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