By Walid Shoebat
It is no secret that ISIS has manufactured drones and has threatened the U.K, the United States and France. And yesterday, mysterious drones were sighted which is alarming the U.K and France that the activity is planned to cause a meltdown similar to what happened at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan.
French authorities today were trying to hunt down the pilots of drones that were spotted flying over Paris landmarks and high-security buildings including the U.S. embassy.
The small, remotely-controlled flying objects were seen overnight Monday to Tuesday over the U.S. embassy and nearby Interior Ministry, as well as over the Eiffel tower nearly 2 miles to the west and Place de la Bastille over 2.5 miles to the east.
Paris on high alert as security guards the Eiffel Tower
The story develops that a major threat to nuclear reactors is underway to the point that Newsweek reported the story under the title Most French Nuclear Plants ‘Should Be Shut Down’ Over Drone Threat while Russian TV reported it as ‘16 nuclear reactors vulnerable to terrorist drone attacks’ – UK govt adviser while the Express reported the news as TERROR THREAT ALERT: UK’s nuclear plants are at SERIOUS risk of terrorist drone strikes.
“You don’t need massive amounts of force to allow a nuclear plant to go into instability. The plant has enough energy to destroy itself. Drones can be used to tickle the plant into instability.”
John Large, an engineer for Britain’s Atomic Energy Authority, says that terrorists with devastating simplicity can use drones to coordinate a terror attack on a nuclear power station.
Drone attack threat: London-based nuclear expert John Large
First, one drone hits the distribution grid serving the plant, depriving the facility of off-site power, making it dependent on its diesel generators to cool the reactor, which generates up to 1,000 megawatts of power – enough to light up half of Paris. Then the generators are easily taken out by an unmanned drone with a relatively small payload. Without power to cool the radioactive fuel, Large estimates it would take approximately 30 seconds before the fuel begins to melt, leading to potential leakages of nuclear waste.
In France it is a growing worry after dozens of sightings of mystery drones over nuclear plants and military installations — and one over the presidential palace. Investigators have yet to find most of the perpetrators.
The potential for destruction could be immense since there are 59 nuclear reactors in France, a higher proportion than any other country, especially that the terror threat in France has been heightened following the January attacks in Paris.
Too much energy is focused on risk assessments relating to accidents at nuclear power plants than potential terror attacks, the engineer argues.
In a bid to sketch out contingency responses, Large analyzed a series of hypothetical attack scenarios with the worst casualties ranging to tens of thousands.
The engineer concluded unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) access to nuclear plants in the UK “is relatively unimpeded.” And besides the threat in France, he said drones pose a real risk to Britain’s 16 nuclear reactors.
As ISIS continues to wreak bloodshed in the Middle East, counter-terror experts say the group plans to create a “dirty bomb” for use in the West.
Large’s confidential report into the flyovers found that drones are a significant threat if put in the wrong hands, capable of leapfrogging the plants’ defences, which were not designed with agile, airborne technology in mind. “Nuclear power plants were designed to prevent accidents, they weren’t designed to protect against terrorist threats.”
According to figures from France’s Directorate General for Civil Aviation DGAC, 1,300 commercial drone licences have been granted since regulations were brought in in 2012, but they can also easily be bought without a licence on the high street or online. Although commercial drones have become popular with hobbyists and businesses, being used for everything from delivery to advertising, Large is keen to highlight the new threat to sensitive buildings and facilities that could become the target of terrorist attacks.
A small drone crashed on the White House lawn last month, raising U.S. concern about the phenomenon.
SOURCES
RT, Newsweek, USA TODAY
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