An outdoor appearance gives a protection team plenty to think about. The crowd, the arrival point, the traffic, the person trying to get closer to the client. Most of that work happens at ground level.
A drone adds another consideration. Small consumer models can be relatively inexpensive and are widely available. Buying one no longer requires a specialist supplier or a substantial budget. That accessibility matters, even though owning a drone and being permitted to fly it in a particular location are separate things.
It may belong to the event’s filming crew, someone taking photographs nearby or a person whose intentions are unclear. From the ground, that distinction can be difficult to make. The drone alone tells you very little about the person operating it or why they are there.
That is worth discussing before the event. Are any drone flights planned? Who can confirm them? Where should an unexpected sighting be reported, and who will assess whether it affects the principal’s visit?
For a team already managing a busy outdoor appearance, having those answers beforehand removes some of the uncertainty if a drone does appear.
The Caracas Incident
In August 2018, explosions interrupted Nicolás Maduro’s televised appearance in Caracas, and his protection team moved him from the stage.
Bellingcat later examined publicly available footage and found evidence supporting an apparent attack involving two drones, likely carrying explosive devices. The analysis could not establish who was responsible.
For protection teams, it is an incident worth studying. It shows why activity above an outdoor event deserves attention, without giving us a reason to treat every drone as an incoming attack.
The useful discussion starts with the assignment in front of us. Is there relevant threat information? Are drone flights expected? Who can help assess an unexpected sighting, and how will that information reach the detail?
Those questions are better answered during planning than while the principal is on stage and the team is trying to work out what is happening.
Start With the Client and the Event
Drone risk will vary between assignments. Consider the client’s profile, relevant threat information, previous incidents, publicity around the appearance and the setting.
A publicly advertised event may present different concerns from a private visit. A residence with repeated reports of unwanted filming needs a different discussion from a venue expecting an authorised production crew.
There are several possible issues to consider:
- Privacy and information gathering: Unwanted filming may reveal activity that the client reasonably expected to remain private.
- Disruption: An incident or report may interrupt an event, delay travel or require changes to the schedule.
- Safety: Unsafe flying, a loss of control or deliberate harmful use may place people at risk.
Keep those possibilities in proportion to the information available. A drone being present does not establish why it is there.
The aim is to understand what would matter for this assignment and how the people responsible would deal with it.
Ask the Venue What Is Already Arranged
Raise the subject during the advance or planning call.
Is aerial filming part of the event? Who has arranged it? Who is the contact for the production team? Have there been previous concerns involving drones?
Find out whether the venue has a reporting procedure, specialist support or arrangements with the relevant authorities. If detection equipment is in use, ask who operates it and how assessed information reaches the protection team.
Be clear about the venue’s limits too. A venue can explain its event arrangements, but do not assume it controls all the surrounding airspace.
If filming is planned, establish how changes will be communicated. An unexpected flight may turn out to be part of a production arrangement that never reached the detail. That is an avoidable information gap.
Where several organisations are involved, agree who coordinates the response. The first sighting should not be the moment everyone starts looking for the right telephone number.
Make Reporting Useful
A report needs to separate what was observed from what the observer believes it means.
“I saw a small drone above the adjoining building” gives the team something to assess. “We are under drone surveillance” adds a conclusion that may not yet be supported.
Record the time, location, apparent direction of travel and what the drone was doing. Note any uncertainty. Photographs or video may help where they can be obtained safely and without distracting from assigned duties.
Pass the information through the agreed channel so it can be assessed alongside other reports.
Avoid repeatedly relaying the same sighting as though each retelling confirms another aircraft. This is especially important at a busy event where several people may report the same activity.
Repeated observations can justify further attention, but they still need context. A pattern should be examined rather than assumed to be hostile.
Be Realistic About What the Team Can See
A drone can be difficult to spot, especially around buildings, trees or a busy event. Poor light and weather can make it harder still. Someone watching the sky may miss it or be unable to tell what they are seeing.
Detection equipment has limits too. It may alert you to an aircraft, but it cannot tell you why it is there. That still needs to be assessed.
So, while looking up matters, we need to be realistic about who can do it and what else they are responsible for. At a larger event, venue security or specialist support may help. A small detail may have very little spare capacity.
Anyone who has worked alone with a client will recognise the difficulty. You are keeping pace with the principal, speaking with the driver, checking access and dealing with changes as they happen. You cannot give the sky your full attention while doing all of that.
Agree who can contribute and make sure the plan reflects the people actually available. If the assessment identifies a need for additional support, raise it with those managing the assignment. Another task on the briefing sheet does not give an overstretched operator the capacity to carry it out.
Agree Who Makes the Call
If someone spots a drone, they should know who to tell. The team should also know who will assess the report and speak with the venue or authorities. Sort that out during the briefing, while there is time to ask questions.
Talk through what happens if the concern affects the visit. Make sure the team’s plans work with the venue’s emergency procedures, so people are not receiving conflicting instructions.
You do not want every sighting to cause an unnecessary rush. Equally, yesterday’s harmless flight is no reason to dismiss today’s report. Pass on what is known, be clear about what is uncertain and give the person making the decision enough information to act.
Where appropriate, include the client’s representative in that conversation. If a concern means delaying an appearance or changing the location, they should already understand who will advise them and how that decision will be communicated.
Be Careful With Equipment Claims
“Counter-drone” can describe very different products. Some systems help detect an aircraft. Others are designed to interfere with it. Before buying or hiring anyone, make sure everyone understands what is being offered.
Start with the problem you need to address. What did the assessment identify, and how would this equipment help? That conversation should happen before a supplier’s demonstration or a purchasing decision.
Ask about limitations as openly as you ask about capabilities. What might the system miss? What can cause false alerts? How does it perform around buildings, crowds and a busy communications environment? A demonstration can be useful, but you need to know how closely it resembles the conditions where you intend to use it.
You also need qualified, trained personnel to operate it. They should understand that particular system, recognise its limitations, interpret its alerts and explain what the information does, and does not tell them. General security experience alone does not establish that competence.
Confirm who will provide those personnel, what relevant training they have completed and whether any required authorisations are in place. Give them enough time to set up, check the equipment and coordinate with the venue and protection team. Handing an unfamiliar system to an already busy operator on the morning of an event is not adequate preparation.
Legal authority needs a separate check. Equipment being available to buy does not mean you are permitted to use every function it offers. US interagency guidance, for example, identifies aviation, communications and criminal-law issues associated with particular detection and mitigation technologies. The actual system and its intended use need appropriate legal review.
Then talk through what happens when an alert appears. Who checks it? Who contacts the venue or authorities? What reaches the protection team, and how quickly? The person assessing the alert should be able to explain what has been detected, how confident they are and what remains uncertain.
This matters because the detail needs usable information. An unexplained warning can leave an operator trying to judge its significance while also looking after the principal.
Ask about failure and support too. What happens if coverage is lost, the system stops working or repeated alerts cannot be resolved? Who provides technical support, and what arrangements remain in place while the equipment is unavailable?
Include personnel, training, setup and support when considering the cost. If a member of the detail is expected to operate the system, account for the duties they will no longer be able to perform. A small team may need an additional trained person rather than another responsibility added to someone’s existing workload.
Before the event, make sure the team understands what the equipment can provide, who is operating it and where its limits are. That allows people to use the information with an appropriate level of confidence and know when further assessment is needed.
Leave Intervention to Those With the Authority
Spotting a drone does not give the detail permission to interfere with it. Trying to disable it or bring it down can put people nearby at risk and create legal problems for the team.
Stay focused on the client, pass on what you know and follow the agreed response arrangements. Being responsible for someone’s protection does not, by itself, give you authority to act against an aircraft.
If specialist intervention is part of the event plan, establish beforehand who is authorised and trained to carry it out. Make sure the detail knows how to contact them, who makes the decisions and how instructions will reach the team. Those responsibilities need to be clear before anyone is under pressure to act.
Make It Part of the Preparation
For an assignment where drones are a relevant concern, bring the subject into the planning and briefing. Find out what support is available, who will assess a report and how the team will receive information it can act on.
Some events will have trained specialists and equipment. Others will have far less. Be clear about what is actually in place so the detail knows what it can reasonably rely on.
We also need to recognise how much we already ask of the people on the ground. An operator accompanying a client may be managing access, speaking with the driver and dealing with last-minute changes at the same time. Asking them to watch the sky as well does not create the capacity to do it properly.
If the assessment identifies a need for more support, those managing the assignment need to address it. Give the team clear responsibilities, reliable contacts and a plan that fits the resources available.
The operator should not have to work all of this out for the first time when a drone appears and everyone turns to them for an answer.