Donald Trump’s second state visit to the UK will see a big policing operation led by drones in the airspace over Windsor, police have said.
King Charles is to host the US president and his wife, Melania Trump, at Windsor Castle from 17 to 19 September, where they will be entertained with a ceremonial welcome and state banquet.
A round-the-clock policing operation will be in place in the Berkshire town during the event, with a temporary order restricting the airspace from 16 September – when the state visit rehearsal is to take place – until 18 September.
This means non-police drones and smaller aircraft cannot fly through the protected area, Thames Valley police officers said on Monday during a drone-flying demonstration at the force’s training centre in Sulhamstead, Berkshire.
The Stop Trump Coalition is to stage a mass demonstration in central London on the first day of the trip, with a further protest planned near Windsor Castle.
Each police drone can fly up to 120 metres (400ft) and is expected to stay up for 30 minutes at a time during the operation, with the replacement drone taking off shortly before the end of that period so as not to lose coverage.
The DJI Matrice 30T model introduced during the demonstration on Monday is already used by police on a day-to-day basis, usually as part of missing persons inquiries and drug warrants, officers said.
“It’s a significant policing operation for us,” Ch Insp Matthew Wilkinson of Thames Valley police’s joint operations unit said.
“However, Thames Valley police is proud to host these events and we have a good history of putting on these events for both the royal family and the country.”
Asked about the scale of the drone operation for the US president’s state visit compared with other high profile events, Wilkinson replied: “It’s one of the larger ones. It’s in line with other large-scale events we’ve put on as a force.”
Speaking on the restricted airspace order, he said: “Obviously it’s an offence to fly a drone in a restricted airspace and we will have resources to deal with any of those incursions.
“We will have plenty of capability in the sky when the time is appropriate,” he said, adding that the drones will act as an “eye in the sky” during the event.
It will be Trump’s second state visit to the UK – an unprecedented gesture towards a US president – after he came in 2019.
His first trip to the UK saw thousands of people turn out on the streets in London in opposition.