Was Gatwick drone scare a hack just ahead of its sale?

Details are sparse but of the stories reaching me, this one seems to have provenance.

It is alleged that the Police drones used at Gatwick were not looking for drones but for accomplices to a systems hack at the airport that prevented aircraft taking off and landing.

The police were unsure if the hackers were inside or outside of the airport hence the major vehicle and police drone search that happened on the first day. That search prompted an increase in drone sightings and the police went with that story for the closure of Gatwick.

I did think the reaction at the time was disproportionate to the threat and that it might be a cover for some other operation.

Perhaps the arrival of the Army at Gatwick sent the hackers around the M25 and up to Birmingham Airport, who also experienced some sort of systems failure on December 23rd of December 2018, due to fire apparently.

sUAS News contributor Ian Hudson compiled this excellent Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (CUAS) arrival chart at Gatwick, as far as I can tell no CUAS system saw any tracks at Gatwick. This incident has been used a sales hammer for companies making wild claims about the efficacy of their systems.

A hat tip to Eddie Mitchell @brightonsnapper for capturing events on the day on his Twitter feed

Only time will let us know what really happened, I can’t help thinking more will slowly emerge. Perhaps in March 2019.