The FIFA World Cup currently being held in Brazil is a prime time to showcase new technologies for many companies. We’ve already had the first instance of smartwatch goalline technology coming into play, big data analysts have thrown in their predictions on who will win, and hackers have jumped on the football frenzy to try and dupe fans.
So what does the country of Israel, a drug lord known as Little P, and the French football team all have in common with the World Cup? One word, drones.
In the case of Israel, we’re not talking amateur mini delivery drones here. We’re talking multi-billion dollar military grade drones exported from Israel to clean up Brazil’s streets in preparation for the event.
A police intelligence officer tracked a drug gang leader known as Little P for a month before the World Cup in an effort to stop violence in Rio de Janeiro’s slums.
He tracked him with an Israel Aerospace Industries Heron drone, which was used to monitor Little P from all angles at all times, leading to an arrest on March 26.
The country has over 10,000 miles of borders to control, and Brazil has become a major customer for Israeli drone firms, beating worldwide competitors to win the government contracts. Israel reportedly sold over $4bn of military drones from 2005 to 2012, which is almost 10% of the country’s defence export industry. Israel has focused particularly on the Brazilian market, filling the void left by tight US military trade restrictions.
It turns out the French international team was also the victim of drone spying last week.
The French coach Didier Deschamps is calling for an investigation after a civilian quadcopter drone was seen spying on his team at a closed training session last Tuesday.
He was worried that the drone belonged to a rival team, spying on France’s tactics. If it was Honduras, the spying inevitably didn’t work. The incident does, however, bring into light the strategic advantages drone-deployers could get from spying with what is a fairly basic and low-cost setup. It also shows how easily drones get be acquired now. Anyone can buy a commercial drone with a decent camera now for under £500. Will we see the media use drones more and more now in the field at disaster zones or sporting events?
Ah, the world cup. Not only a football extravaganza but an international showcase for what technologie’s been up to over the past four years.
