Our latest way to stop illegal migrant boats... wave-powered robots

HIGH-TECH sea drones packed with cameras and sensors powered by the sun and waves are being deployed to protect Britain’s coastline from people traffickers.

Secret trials of the drones have taken place and the UK Border Force is monitoring the results, The Mail on Sunday has been told.

The 16ft-long craft can see vessels over a five-mile radius using optical lenses that can magnify an image by 30-fold, while their acoustic sensors pick up engine noises from the smugglers’ boats.

The drones, which are built from fibreglass and weigh 550lb, are expected to provide a much-needed boost to border officials, who have just three vessels to patrol more than 7,000 miles of coastline. Traffickers, who charge migrants up to £10,000 to come to Britain, are routinely exploiting weaknesses in the UK’s sea defences.

Last month, police revealed that hundreds of migrants have landed on beaches around Britain, or been smuggled into small ports. In June, three Iranians were rescued in waters off Hastings, East Sussex, after their boat sank. And in May, an Albanian family had to be rescued off the Kentish coast after their boat capsized. A British man was also arrested in Chichester, West Sussex, on suspicion he helped 17 Albanians cross the Channel in a catamaran.

Drone expert Bill Briggs, from the research company Qinetiq, said: ‘These drones are probably best acting as a tripwire.

‘You could have a line of them operating networked together. They see something and report it back to an aircraft or shore station and that cues something that is a bit bigger and a bit faster [to intervene].’

The drones, which cost tens of thousands of pounds each, can remain at sea for several months at a time. They travel across the surface using fins powered by the action of the waves – and solar power for camera and communica- tions. Live video footage is relayed to land-based operators and infrared cameras mean the drones can provide 24-hour protection against traffickers approaching the coast.

One drone being tested is called the AutoNaut. Karen Weech from Vreo Innovation, which makes the drone’s cameras and communications systems, said: ‘The AutoNaut has quickly generated a high degree of interest from governments and law enforcement agencies who recognise the benefits of establishing vision capability off-shore.’

A Home Office spokesman said last night: ‘The UK Border Force is continuously looking at ways to enhance the security of UK maritime borders.’