In search and rescue (SAR) operations, minutes matter. Searching for missing persons is methodical and disciplined, technical and critical. Traditional search tools and methods all by themselves—ground teams and manned aircraft—can be slow and expensive. And they are often limited by visibility, weather, or terrain. Search and rescue drones can become a vital part of your SAR toolkit to overcome these limitation.
Why Search & Rescue drones are a game changer
Search and rescue responses are executed with well-planned Incident Action Plans (IAP) that include both planning and operations.
Using a search and rescue drone as part of your IAP can increase the chance of a successful mission by accelerating the speed, accuracy, and safety of both the search and the rescue.
You can leverage a SAR drone as part of your SAR missions including during:
- Rapid area assessment – to quickly get an aerial view of large areas, identify the terrain, and even doing a hasty search
- Search – as a key resource used to search for and find missing persons. Especially in difficult terrain, at nighttime, or in low visibility
- Situational Assessment – to evaluate safety or environmental considerations such as structural integrity of bridges or buildings
- Risk mitigation – to gather information in dangerous or inaccessible locations, or as an early warning system such as for wildlife
- Rescue – to precisely identify the location of a person, or to a map a rescue route
Who uses Search & Rescue drones
As prices have come down in recent years and skilled pilots have become more available, more SAR teams have been able to take advantage of the latest SAR drone technology such as autonomous flying and advanced cameras. In fact, drones used for search and rescue by Public Services Emergency agencies is on pace to hit a 6 year 10.2% CAGR, growing to almost $5B USD by 2030.*
Public Services Emergency Agencies are typically cost and security conscious. This means they require strict adherence to budgets, government programs and funding, and security regulations.
Which means you might be surprised to learn that three value-add factors of a drone program ALL ranked above cost savings – Time saving, Quality increase, and Safety increase.*
How does Vision Aerial’s Search & Rescue Drone Solution stand out from the rest
Vision Aerial’s SwitchBlade-Elite, now equipped with the FLIR HadronTM 640R, is a perfect fit for SAR teams who need to fly longer missions with their search and rescue drone while operating in challenging environments. The SwitchBlade-Elite is compliant with FY20 and FY23 NDAA, and the American Drone Security Act. It’s cyber secure and safe to fly. And it’s made in America and built to last.
This search & rescue drone solution can positively impact your mission in four key ways
- Speed – The SwitchBlade-Elite is not only one of the most transportable SAR drones, it can also be deployed from case to mission in two minutes or less. This means you can reach remote areas faster than helicopters or planes can even be deployed. And it can help you SAR team cover a wide areas faster than ground teams alone, especially in tricky terrains.
- Accuracy – Advanced cameras like the Hadron 640R have a dual sensor, which pairs thermal and visible images. This increases situational awareness even in low visibility like darkness, smoke, or dense forest. Furthermore, the Hadron 640R provides this EO/IR capability without sacrificing high resolution and excellent video.
- Endurance – When paired together, the SwitchBlade-Elite and the Hadron 640R have optimized power usage that extends flight time beyond what you might expect. This allows SAR teams to search longer with less frequent battery swaps. When you fly traditional SAR search patterns like grid or corridor, the endurance benefits become even more obvious. Combine that optimized SWaP with the Indefinite Flight Package, and you’ve enabled continuous flying.
- Intelligence – Communication with ground crews and mission command is crucial in any SAR mission. Powerful edge computing on the SwitchBlade-Elite, along with geo-tagging and AI-enabled imagery, brings intelligence to this Vision Aerial Search & Rescue Drone Solution. These technologies help you more quickly and confidently identify a missing person, geo-tag their location, and initiate tracking when needed.
Get a first-hand look!
Seeing is believing. Download the free Search & Rescue Drone Quickstart Guide to see real examples of how thermal color palettes and autonomous flight mission plans can enhance your search operations. Also learn about common mistakes people make when using drones in their SAR operations. And discover how the Vision Aerial search and rescue solution can help you improve the efficiency of your SAR operations.
* Drone Application Report 2024, Drone Industry Insights