Scanners, air defence systems, cameras, helicopters, a 200-foot blimp and a no-fly zone are security measures being implemented for the Athens Summer Games.
Olympic security officials now have U.S. scanners to check cars and trucks for bombs. The two mobile X-ray scanners, on loan from U.S. Customs, will be used to check for possible explosives in cars, trucks and cargo. The equipment is part of a bilateral agreement reached last month to strengthen seaport protection.
Also, dozens of Patriot missiles have been placed around Athens, including U.S. Patriot missile batteries and French and Russian systems, reports The Associated Press.
Greek authorities said the U.S.-made Patriot missiles were progressively installed from July 1 and would remain in place until after the Games end on August 29.
Three police helicopters and a Zeppelin airship, also equipped with surveillance cameras, will operate almost around the clock during the Olympics, a police source told Reuters.
Russian-made S 300 anti-aircraft missiles are protecting the city of Heraklion on the southern island of Crete, according to the AFP news agency, and The Associated Press said Patriot missile sites were also being installed in the northern city of Thessaloniki and one on the Aegean Sea island of Skyros.
Meanwhile, more than 290 street cameras began Olympic patrols to monitor major roads and areas near venues.
Trucks headed to the Olympic Village and venues will be scanned by vehicles based at a new facility at Aspropyrgos, a town west of the city centre.
The scanners, with an extending arm mounted on a command vehicle – are designed to detect guns, explosives, drugs and people. Officials say trucks can be checked in about three minutes.
Athens is imposing a no-fly zone over the city a week before the Games begin and has drawn up contingency plans to shoot down hijacked planes that could be used similar to the Sept. 11 attack, said a senior Green air defence official.
