A planned demonstration of the use of unmanned logistics air vehicles (ULAV) in aid operations by Aviation Sans Frontières is emerging as key test case for the technology by other relief organisations.
The demonstration, using a French Flying Robots FR-101 parasail ULAV, will take place during the first four months of 2008 with operations being studied in the Darfur region in the west of Sudan and the Congo.
Aviation Sans Frontières says it is talking with a number of non-government relief organisations about how the ULAV could support their field requirements.
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), which runs a fleet of 120 light aircraft in relief operations around the world, says it is closely monitoring the proposed demonstration as a signpost for future capability.
Max Gove, MAF UK research and development manager, says the charity has not previously considered unmanned technology options, but that may change given the Aviation Sans Frontières plan.
He told the Royal Aeronautical Society's aviation support in relief operations conference in London on 25 September that "we haven't looked at that yet, but once we see what is happening, we will be very interested".
Military-owned UAVs have supported a number of major relief operations in recent years, dominated by image-gathering applications. The Indian air force fielded its Israel Aerospace Industries Heron and Searcher II systems in survivor locator roles as part of domestic response operations after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
In April the US Navy used ship-launched Insitu Scan Eagles to gather imagery to map the spread of damage in the Solomon Islands after a major earthquake and tsunami.
The United Nations is now exploring potential lease of UAV services to support its peace-keeping operations, with potential destinations including Darfur and the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia.
UN procurement officials have emphasised an immediate requirement for surveillance capability, but have also held talks with manufacturers and service providers offering ULAV solutions.
Tim Willbond, managing partner in the UK-based Merlin Integrated Solutions consultancy, says the most likely classes of UAVs to be applied to humanitarian operations in the near term will remain small, mini and micro systems with these used in imagery collection roles.
He says these classes of UAVS have greater technical maturity, relative availability and lower cost compared with other types. However, he also acknowledges the potential for ULAV applications: "We have got a whole range of technologies out there."
Source: Flight International
