A mechanic in front of an Air Force Fennec helicopter at 107 Villacoublay air base (Illistration) – V. Wartner / 20 Minutes
To avoid any possible panic, the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes preferred to warn: this week, from Tuesday to Friday, “a Fennec helicopter from the Air and Space Army (AAE) will carry out several low-altitude overflights. the cities of Nice, Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Antibes, Cannes, Le Cannet and Grasse ”.
The device will indeed pass very close to the ground, “at about 40 m” and “at a speed of 70 km / h”, she specifies. Three flights of one to two hours will be scheduled per day from and to Nice airport.
In view of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in particular
What purpose ? To organize the security “of the major events to come, in particular the Rugby World Cup 2023” still provide the services of the State. And how ? By carrying out “a cartography which serves as reference data”.
The helicopter will thus take readings thanks to “a specific detection device allowing it to perceive all types of radiation, whether emitted by natural elements or resulting from human activity”, further indicates the prefecture.
She argues that “this type of mission is carried out regularly on all sites hosting large-scale events” and indicates “that an operation of the same nature has already been carried out in Nice in 2011”.