Inspector with the Saskatchewan RCMP, Devin Pugh, talks about the capabilities of the aircraft demonstrated Friday in North Battleford. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

New Possibilities

RCMP hold remotely piloted aircraft demonstration in North Battleford

Aug 25, 2023 | 5:16 PM

Battlefords RCMP hosted a live demonstration Friday, for a new Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), being used in the province.

Showcasing the capabilities of the equipment, Friday’s demonstration featured a close-up look at the aircraft, as one was available to observe in the room, while another was taken onto the roof and operated by a pair of trained officers, using its video feature to showcase its capabilities first-hand.

Devin Pugh, inspector with the Saskatchewan RCMP in charge of the support services program in the province, gave the presentation. He said in essence, what they want to use the new aircraft for is to provide air support to frontline officers on the ground that are responding to calls in North Battleford and area.

Flying between 400 and 500 feet, and capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 kilometers per hour, Pugh said the technology can be especially valuable for situations such as a high-speed pursuit.

“In a pursuit situation we just have to click on that vehicle and [the aircraft] will follow it, so we can get the exact direction, and if you can imagine, us being able to back off a pursuit but still be able to still follow the vehicle, the safety enhancements are pretty outstanding,” he said.

Nursing education

New early admission option to help alleviate tight timeline for nursing students

6h ago

Russia-Ukraine War

In a first, President Biden gives green light for Ukraine's use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles in Russia

Nov 17, 2024

Helping hand

Big red sleigh brings holiday spirit to kick off Battlefords Empty Stocking Fund

Nov 16, 2024

The demonstration showed that while takeoff is extremely loud as the craft ascends vertically (like a helicopter), once in the air the it does become considerably quieter as its bottom propellers kick in and the large overhead one shuts off.

While the models explored Friday do not feature any form of facial recognition software, or ability to read licence plates, they do have a thermal option which Pugh said can be of great benefit.

“That assists us greatly,” he said. “When we’re looking for missing people that are lost in the woods or lost somewhere, we can pick up a thermal image and it just expeditates that process of being able to identify where they are.”

Pictured predominantly on the screen is the thermal camera view over the city, with the standard camera view seen in the corner. This can be reversed at any time by the controls. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Currently, there are only a couple of larger model aircraft like the ones demonstrated Friday in use in Saskatchewan, situated in Regina and Prince Albert. They are used for quick-response situations such as helping in the search for a missing person or in the case of a rescue operation.

However, Pugh said the goal is to expand the program to have them also available in other centres, such as North Battleford.

“We want to expand this, we’re testing it out this weekend to see its viability and I believe it’s going to be very, very effective, and once we get that data and those statistics we can then request for further funding and see if we can expand it,” he said.

Testing in North Battleford will continue through the weekend.

—

Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1