To operate a drone in the Public Safety sector under the new UAS regulations you will need to attain a GVC qualification (General Visual Line of Sight).

Our classroom and online GVC courses are OFQUAL Level 4 certified and provide you with the training and qualification needed to make the CAA application. The course concludes with a 40 question multiple choice theory exam. The GVC certificate is valid for 5 years from issue.

To find out how you can get started, head to our how to Become a Drone Pilot page.

With Search and Rescue the main 2 factors you need to look into are fast-deployment and flight time. Most SAR teams will carry a small drone in their backpacks that can be deployed in under a minute. For this reason, the market leaders are the Parrot Anafi SA SE & DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced. Both drones weigh under 1kg. Both drones boast impressive RGB and thermal cameras, and with flight times of around 30 mins and multiple battery pack options available, the drones would almost be able to have continuous flight with appropriate charging equipment available.

To find out more on how SAR teams are using drones, read our blog!

READ OUR BLOG

Police are using a variety of drones and sensors to assist with operations all over the UK. From lightweight drones like the Parrot Anafi USA & DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced, to the larger end of the spectrum such as DJI Matrice 300 RTK, police are tackling stolen vehicles, search and rescue missions and crowd control/surveillance using the technology.

This technology helps officers to save lives and reduce risk.

For quick deployment drones the Parrot ANAFI USA SE and DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced can’t be beaten. Particularly the Parrot ANAFI Thermal which can be deployed from your hand for quick-response operations in tricky terrain.

Weather wise your best options are the DJI Matrice 300 RTK which has an IP rating of 43 and can be operated in medium wet and windy weather. An even better option for operating your drone in adverse weather conditions is the Acecore Zoe, it has a flight time of up to 40 minutes and an IP rating of 55 which means it’s operable in wind gusts of up to 35 knots. Despite only benefitting from 4 rotors, their is an increased redundancy option too with the use of a parachute kit.

Both of these drones have the exact same thermal core and imaging capabilities. In comparison the Parrot’s visual camera has a slightly higher quality so if you’re looking at these two drone options for SAR or response operations then you’ll get a slightly higher quality image with the Parrot ANAFI USA SE. That said the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced has the additional features of a search light and speaker system so you can fly in dark conditions and communicate with people on the ground. It’s worth speaking to our team to find out which you would benefit more from, a better visual or accessories to aid your operations.

In the UK all drone operators are regulated to a maximum of 400ft high and 500m in distance away from the operator. Emergency services do have an exemption when there is a serious threat to life.