Ashley Harvey, Gatwick Airport’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Lead is to join the UK drone specialist Crowded Space Drones, as the head of their Counter Drone Unit.
He’s worked at Gatwick Airport since 1997 primarily in airside operational roles, and became the drone lead for the Sussex airport after the closure in December 2018 which disrupted operations for days and made global headlines.
In this role he oversaw the testing and deployment of drone detection systems and creating operational systems, processes and procedures to mitigate and prevent further attacks. He has also worked with UK and European wide airspace safety and counter terrorism agencies on protecting critical infrastructure, and the UK legislation to support this.
Andrew Hamilton, Director of Operations for Crowded Space Drones said: “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.”
And Ashley, pictured, said: “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.”
About the firm
Crowded Space Drones were deployed nationally by Counter Terrorism Policing from December 21, 2018 to January 3, 2019 to support police after from the Gatwick drone attack. The company also covers events, such as the Aintree Grand National, Silverstone, Wimbledon Championships, displays by the Red Arrows, and Leeds & Reading music festivals; and including behind closed doors events due to the Covid-19 pandemic, such as the recent four-day race meeting at Knavesmire, York. Visit https://crowdedspacedrones.com/.
