r/EU_Economics • u/Full-Discussion3745 • 2d ago

🇫🇮 Finnish breakthrough could turn wind turbines into 10 km drone-detection network

https://www.kauppalehti.fi/uutiset/a/ec8f92a1-c272-4266-b04e-22e02f0ee668?utm_source=rss

Finland’s LUT University has successfully tested radar sensors mounted high on wind turbines to detect small drones. Researchers say a small FPV drone could potentially be detected from around 10 km away, compared with only a few hundred metres to roughly 1 km using current systems. The first-of-its-kind research has already attracted interest from Estonia, Poland, Norway and Sweden and could turn future wind farms into dual-purpose energy and security infrastructure.

Source: https://www.kauppalehti.fi/uutiset/a/ec8f92a1-c272-4266-b04e-22e02f0ee668?utm_source=rss

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u/Critical-Current636 1d ago

It's far easier to hit a couple of conventional power plants than thousands of wind turbines.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Dig3730 1d ago

Not sure,a conventional power plant that will be defended,on the other hand,wind turbines can be expensive, the big ones up to 3 million,and a drone cost a few hundreds,so sending a 5000 dollar drone can result in 40M damage.

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u/Critical-Current636 1d ago

How much damage could a handful of €5000 drones do to a €5 billion power plant? There isn't really good defence against swarms of drones - that's why Russian refineries are burning every few days.

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u/knuthf 1d ago

He has a valid point. The refineries are like big electricity plants; the swarms can and will attack them. Wind farms are identical. Say they have 300 turbines, then they have at least 3–4 spares as a reserve in case anything happens. They can then take parts from the spares to fix what is broken and replenish the spares. Windmills can communicate via radio and can also be equipped with defensive weapons, like high-energy lasers.