The trials of four innovative new security systems have been successfully launched at Winfrith, the former nuclear reactor test site in Dorset.

The systems, which are designed to autonomously detect security breaches, operate using innovative technology including unmanned ground vehicles (UVGs) and unmanned aerial systems (UASs).

It’s part of work the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is doing to look at how innovation and technology can be used to enable and accelerate its mission to decommission the UK’s earliest nuclear sites safely, securely and sustainability, delivering value for money for the taxpayer.

Andrew Gray, Innovation Delivery Manager at the NDA, said: “This project marks an exciting milestone in our commitment to innovation, utilising cutting-edge technology to improve threat detection and response.

“These demonstrator programmes are key in delivering benefit groupwide, capturing and sharing learning so that future deployments can be accelerated.

“Winfrith has been selected as it’s a lower risk site where we’ve removed most of the hazardous material, so that when traditional nuclear security measures are no longer proportionate, we can move quickly and reduce costs overall in the longer term.

“The insights gained throughout the trial will be invaluable in exploring how these systems could be deployed in real-world applications, potentially revolutionising security operations.”

The £2m NDA-funded project is being delivered in collaboration with the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) team, Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) security projects and the Winfrith site.

It will run throughout 2025, conducting a series of trials to evaluate the system’s performance in an operational environment to provide learning as to how it could potentially be adopted to support existing security measures and reduce operating costs in the future.

There are also opportunities to explore how the benefits of the concepts being trialled can be shared more widely across the nuclear industry and other sectors.

The NDA has sponsored four external suppliers – Operational Solutions Ltd, Espanaro Ltd, ISS Aerospace and Archangel Imaging – who have been carefully selected to trial their concept systems at the NRS site.

Rob Coan, NRS Winfrith Site Manager, said: “The project is the first large-scale active demonstrator on an NRS site.

“By testing these advanced technologies in real-world operational conditions, we aim to significantly enhance security capabilities while exploring new pathways to safeguard vital infrastructure.”

You can find out more about the Remote Monitoring of Sensitive Sites competition here.