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The United Kingdom’s National Police Air Service (NPAS) has selected Schiebel to support its beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) trial, which is part of the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s BVLOS integration sandbox and scheduled to see its first test flight this summer.
The NPAS trial will evaluate the feasibility of using uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) to work alongside crewed police helicopters and aeroplanes in support of policing operations across England and Wales.
David Walters, NPAS Head of Futures and Innovation, said the aim of the trial was to determine if advancements in aviation technology can bring future benefits to policing and, if they can, how they could be safely introduced into UK airspace. “We will be evaluating how we might integrate uncrewed aircraft into the existing NPAS operating model, under the current management of our CAA-approved Accountable Manager and Form 4 certificate-holders, who are qualified and accountable for the delivery of safe police air operations over England and Wales,” said David Walters.
Schiebel will be flying its CAMCOPTER S-100 in a controlled environment in the Severn estuary to assess the UAS capabilities as part of the concept for a future blended fleet, operated by NPAS. Schiebel will join the National Air Traffic Control Service (NATS) as part of the team supporting the NPAS Futures and Innovation team for the trial, which is funded by the Home Office.
NPAS has already tested a detect and avoid (DAA) system, to enable the trial to operate safely and with minimum disruption to the public and other airspace users. The trial will evaluate the effectiveness of this DAA system as well as the potential for policing operations.
“We cannot predict the outcome of the trial, but it is imperative we deliver the same, or improved, capability that we have today with our crewed aircraft. The desired outcome is to be able to offer police forces in England and Wales a way of supporting their operations in an even more flexible way, with a continued emphasis on public safety,” added David Walters.