France did not wait for the recent repeated drone intrusions above airport platforms and a military base in Denmark and Norway to take measures to guard against these unauthorized flyovers, according to Groupe ADP, which manages the Paris airports of Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly.

The company said that it "has deployed drone detection systems designed by its subsidiary Hologarde." Both Paris airports have previously seen their operations disrupted by unauthorized drone flyovers. In 2016, flights bound for Orly were diverted as a precaution for about 20 minutes due to a drone alert.

Groupe ADP began to take this threat seriously in 2017. That year saw the creation of its subsidiary Hologarde, which was given the mission "to monitor and manage drones in low-altitude airspace." Hologarde did not work alone. From the outset, it drew on the expertise of the defense company Thales and the French Air Navigation Services Directorate, the public authority that manages the country's air traffic.

According to ADP, the objective was to develop a system "based on optical, radar, and radio systems, as well as artificial intelligence software." The aim of the trio was "to detect and identify drones flying near the airports." More than 2,000 incidents involving drones are reported each year around airports or other sensitive sites.

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