The „G“ division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police added a Draganflyer X4-P UAV to their squad last year and it has already aided in two vehicle collisions in the Northwest Territories since it has officially been put into service.
The first accident happened in February where two semi trailer trucks crashed and left two dead about 80 km north of Fort Providence. The UAV helped greatly because there were explosives involved and the RCMP squad was not able to safely approach the scene. The second accident was a car collison on Hwy 3 at the end of March.
The RCMP doesn’t use the Draganflyer just for car accidents, though. It is a useful tool for search and rescue operations, crime scene documentation and training exercises, one of them being the annual Canadian militiary training exercise for emergency response in the Arctic which it was used during last summer.
“It basically allows us greater flexibility in terms of evidence gathering. When you’re locked in on-ground, you really don’t get the full perspective as to what a collision scene really looked like. In terms of search and rescue, with one of these you have a lot more movability capacity and can cover greater terrain on a much shorter time scale.”
Staff Sgt. Brad Kaeding
The remote controlled Draganflyer, released by the company Draganfly Innovations Inc. last spring, was purchased for $23,000. It is 87 cm long, weighs 1.8 kg and features an onboard computer with 11 sensors to stabilise the UAV in flight. It can reach the altitude of 120m and fly for 10 to 20 minutes per battery charge and it is controlled by a touch screen displaying flight data and a live camera feed.
This is the first UAV used by emergency forces in the Northwest Territories and two RCMP officers had to be trained to pilot the UAV and monitor its flight. Thanks to its portability it can be used anywhere in the NWT, therefore no more UAVs are needed at this time.
“I know they’ve been used for quite a while in BC and Saskatchewan and that they have experienced success with them. So it’s expanding and now we have one.“
„I don’t know how much they cost, but I know they’re not inexpensive and I think this is one piece of equipment that could be used to cover the entire NWT because it is so easy to fold up and transport anywhere just by popping it into a suitcase and onto a plane if it was needed in another community.”
Staff Sgt. Brad Kaeding
It is always nice to see more news about UAVs being employed by emergency forces as it greatly reduces costs and makes the public safer and raises the chance of more people being saved from life-threatening situations.
Příspěvek RCMP in Yellowknife recruits a Draganflyer pochází z MENSURO