Ashley Harvey, Gatwick Airport’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Lead is leaving the airport to join UK drone specialist, Crowded Space Drones, as the head of their Counter Drone Unit.
Mr Harvey led the team that oversaw the testing and deployment of drone detection systems in the wake of the chaos caused by the drone sightings in December 2018.
The sightings brought the airport to a halt on several occasions and resulted in the military being deployed alongside the police in what is widely regarded as a deliberate attack on the airport.
Andrew Hamilton, Director of Operations for Crowded Space Drones welcomed Ashley’s appointment: “In my previous role with the Civil Aviation Authority as Drone Unit Lead, I had regular contact with Ashley and was very impressed with his experience and capabilities from his decades of work at Gatwick Airport in the airside environment.
“Following recent expansion of our Counter Drone Unit in protecting critical infrastructure and major events, I felt Ashley was the ideal person to take charge of this growing area. He will be able to provide our aviation, government, major events and private sector clients around the world with expert advice on dealing with the potential threats posed by drones”
Ashley commented on his new role: “I am very excited to be joining a company with such a great experience and depth of knowledge of the positive uses of drones and the problems associated with unauthorised drones in airport environments. Many airports and public safety agencies want to learn from what happened with the UK airport drone incidents, and I am looking forward to helping them protect their airports and critical infrastructure.”
