Britain plans ‘robocop’ force to protect nuclear sites with paint bombs


Jonathan Leake
Thu, 1 February 2024 

High-security nuclear site Sellafield contains more than 100 tonnes of plutonium - Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Europe

Britain’s nuclear sites could soon be protected by a “robocop” style police force made up of AI-powered drones equipped with paint bombs and smoke guns.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which runs high-security nuclear sites such as Sellafield and Dounreay, wants to build a robotic police force to cut costs and boost security across sites containing radioactive waste.

It has offered £1.5m to security and defence companies for initial designs of a robotic defence system, with a view to commissioning a fully-fledged version in the future.


The NDA’s document for the project says that a key aim is to cut labour costs by reducing the number of armed police.

Currently, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary employs nearly 1,600 people, with its cost bill rising to £130m in 2022/23 – up from £110m in 2018.

The procurement document said: “The NDA covers 17 nuclear sites, 1,000 hectares of land and over 800 buildings. We are interested in innovative ways to ensure our sites remain safe and secure in a resource-constrained environment.”

A spokesman for the NDA confirmed the “roboforce” plans, claiming that police officers will be able to control the technology without being exposed to danger.

“They will be able to override the system, or investigate and deal with intruders from a control room,” the spokesman said.

A robotic dog, Spot, is already in use at Sellafield to detect radioactive waste

Security is a key issue for the NDA.

Its Sellafield site, the largest, contains more than 100 tonnes of plutonium and 81,000 cubic metres of high-level waste.

Such waste will remain toxic for centuries, meaning the NDA will face a growing security bill until the waste can be buried.

This has forced the Government agency to consider novel alternatives to human security.

Its procurement document said: “Security systems should consider devices that can be deployed from mobile platforms to deter or delay threat actors. This will buy time for responders and potentially aid any post-incident investigation.”

The systems could include drones or vehicles equipped to blast intruders with white noise, disorientate them with smoke or even target them with paint bombs.

The NDA also wants its roboforce to carry 360-degree cameras containing facial recognition technology that can spot abnormal behaviour.

Andrew Gray, the NDA’s innovation delivery manager, said: “Keeping our sites safe and secure is absolutely critical to delivering our mission in line with our regulatory obligations.

“We are continually seeking cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions to enable us to overcome the challenges we face in nuclear decommissioning, and deliver effectively and efficiently for the public.”