In recent times, drone technology has been rapidly advancing and becoming increasingly popular. Furthermore, there has been an increase in the number of crimes and terrorism cases targeting national facilities using drones. This study aims to categorize the types of drone threats that could pose future risks to nuclear power plants. For this study, we are investigating domestic and foreign drone terrorism cases and identifying the specifications of drones used. It has been confirmed that products from Chinese DJI companies have frequently appeared as commercial drones used in terrorism. This suggests that conversion of general commercial drones into weapons can be effectively utilized for terrorist activities. There is an elevated risk of terrorism involving multiple small drones. Nuclear power plants must also devise protective measures against a large influx of drones. Additionally, it is predicted that North Korea is developing drones equipped with return technology through GPS-based autonomous mission flights. North Korea’s drones are presumed to have been converted from Chinese drones (SKY-09P, UV10CAM, etc.). According to the analysis based on the weight and size of the drone, drones weighting less than 150 kg and wingspan of less than 3 m are used for terrorism. To effectively detect drones, it is necessary to implement measures such as integrating and deploying various equipment to compensate for equipment limitations (radio waves, radar, video, sound, etc.). In the case of long-distance flight, a number of fixed-wing drones capable of autonomous mission flight and long-distance flight were used. North Korea’s drones use GPS-based autonomous mission flights, so it is necessary to prepare drones that do not transmit RF signals to detect them. Both RF signal detection and GPS jamming should be carried out, with GPS jamming taking precedence, even in the case of fixedwing drones. The results of this study could contribute to enhancing the level of physical protection of nuclear power plants.

As drones expand beyond military purposes to the private sector, the level of use of drones in various fields is increasing. However, the world was shocked by the attempt to attack with a drone equipped with a C4 bomb in the US and the attempt to assassinate a head of state using a drone in Venezuela. Drone threats to domestic nuclear power plants are also increasing due to the expansion of drone use, terrorist threats, and North Korea’s invasion of drones. Overseas, various drone threats to nuclear power plants have occurred. In October 2014, French electricity company Electricite de France confirmed that it had observed unauthorized drones over seven nuclear power plants across France. A drone threat occurred at the Savannah River Site (SRS), a U.S. Department of Energy facility that processes and stores nuclear materials. In 2016, eight drones were observed by security personnel. In 2016, a drone flew over the cooling tower of the Liebstadt nuclear power plant in Switzerland, and publicly shared the filmed video on YouTube. In July 2018, Greenpeace activists intentionally crashed a drone into the outer wall of the spent fuel building in Boughey, France. In January 2019, they used drones to drop smoke bombs and release videos at Orangeo’s nuclear facility containing irradiated fuel. In January 22, Sweden saw drones flying over three nuclear power plants. Drone was also seen at the Forsmark nuclear power plant on Friday and at two other Swedish nuclear power plants in Oskarshamn and Ringhals on Monday. Anti-drone technology to counter the threat of drone terrorism is also developing. Anti-drone technology detects, tracks, and identifies illegal drones to neutralize them. Various technologies such as radar, EO/IR cameras, Lidar, sensor, and RF scanners are being developed for drone detection. Depending on the detection technology, it has advantages such as detection distance and remote control drone detection. However, there are also disadvantages, such as obstacles, weather condition, and the inability to detect drones that do not transmit signals. Methods such as jammer, capture, and destruction have been developed for incapacitation technology. While it has advantages such as stability and portability, it has disadvantages such as limited use and damage to the surroundings. Accordingly, it is necessary to draw realistic measures to defend against the threat of nuclear power plants by paying constant attention to the various detection, identification, and neutralization anti-drone systems that continue to evolve.