The exercise
The Estonian Rescue Board’s Järva County Rescue Team, Ambulance, Police and Border Guard Board, Environmental Inspectorate, Defense League and EST-SAR joint exercise took place in Nurmsi, Estonia. The scenario was to respond to an incident involving emergency landing of an AN-2 aircraft and 5 skydivers. The aim was to involve as many parties and equipment as possible to evaluate the readiness and cooperation to deal with a high complexity event. Threod Systems deployed UAVs in the search and rescue exercise.
The parachute jumps were simulated by the Military Parachute Club. As a result of the staged AN-2 engine failure, skydivers had to jump off the aircraft in an unplanned location. As a result of the strong wind, some of them landed in forest and got stuck in the treetops. There was a total of 5 skydivers and one pilot on board. The rescue teams had to find them in the forest (search) and bring down the ones stuck in the treetops (cord rescue) for first aid. The pilot was unconscious and also required paramedic’s aid. The dense space of the forest complicated the search and rescue operation. The rescue teams had to use all possible equipment to assist the injured men.
Threod’s participation
Threod’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were involved in the exercise. Stream and Titan UAVs were deployed to aid the search and rescue operations. It was a great advantage for all parties to practice the cooperation of the authorities involved and to test Threod’s asset capabilities.
After getting the request for assistance, Threod’s team quickly prepared both unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for the operation.
Stream C UAV operates at altitude up to 4000 meters and can detect a human over 9-kilometers distance, with a range of over 150 km. Stream C UAV can survey huge territories and is designed for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions and is a perfect tool for search and rescue operations.
Threods’ multirotor Titan can be set up and deployed in as little as 10 minutes and is a valuable asset for instant assistance of disaster relief, riot control and incident site surveillance. An ideal tool for first responders.
The control of the UAVs was performed from the mobile command center. It is equipped with a datalink, communication system, working stations for UAV operators, as well as the payload operator. Additionally, for maximizing decision making efficiency there are extra widescreen displays and many other features that enable the state-of-the-art UAV control and instant data processing in the time of critical scenarios.
The scenario dictated that UAV-s were included in the later phase of the exercise, this meant that only one missing was yet to be found when Stream C was deployed. The UAV equipped with Orca MWIR gimbal was up to the task and quickly identified and assisted paramedics to the unconscious and heavily wounded skydiver.
It was a great experience for us to work together with so many professionals and practice the search and rescue operations in the civilian environment. Threod Systems is always ready to assist all the participating units in any actual accident.