Essex Police, the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) have teamed up on a new one-year-long drone trial to support vital search and rescue action around the coast of Essex.
The trial, which started on 29 April, will provide HM Coastguard Rescue Teams with more eyes in the sky to assist with search and rescue operations around the county’s coastline, supporting the vital work of their teams and the RNLI.
From helping to search for casualties in hazardous locations and directing HM Coastguard and RNLI lifeboat crews to their locations to enable emergency services to risk assess situations before deploying rescue personnel to the scene, Essex Police’s Drone Unit will provide a range of operational benefits to the search and rescue teams, MCA noted.
At the end of the year-long pilot, the teams will assess the impact that drones have had on coastal search and rescue activity in the region, and that information will help inform the MCA and RNLI’s ongoing work to explore the role that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can play in future search and rescue activity.
One thing, we need to stress is that the drones will not replace our Coastguard helicopters, Coastguard Rescue Teams, RNLI or independent lifeboats. However, it is entirely possible that they could be an additional tool to use in search and rescue and enhance our existing capabilities,
…noted Essex Police Drone Manager Perran Bonner.
This pilot will provide our lifesavers with the opportunity to benefit from the advantages that drones can provide when they’re searching for casualties. The increased situational awareness that drones provide could play a significant role in helping us locate casualties as quickly as possible. When lives are at risk, the speed at which our crews can locate and reach a casualty is vital. Being able to see the impact that drones can have in helping our lifeboat crews search and then reach casualties through this pilot will be extremely useful,
…said Will Roberts, Senior Innovation Manager at the RNLI.
