Raft-dropping drones will soon be helping with rescues at sea. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has awarded a 鈧�30 million contract for uncrewed aircraft to patrol European waters. The remotely piloted aircraft will deploy a new capability, an air-dropped rescue raft to carry up to eight people. It could be used to rescue migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea, however, critics believe that the drones may also be used to deter marine migration attempts.
EMSA announced the four-year contract on 14 October with the REACT consortium, which comprises a subsidiary of the French space agency called CLS and drone-making firm Tekever, based in Lisbon, Portugal. The project will involve four of Tekever鈥檚 twin-prop AR5 aircraft. These have a wingspan of 7 metres and can cruise at 100 kilometres per hour for up to 12 hours.
In addition to the life raft, the drones carry visual and infrared cameras, maritime radar and a detector to pick up and locate emissions from mobile phones.
Aircraft have dropped large rescue rafts since the second world war. The one carried by the AR5, however, is a small, self-inflating device weighing 14 kilograms with no engine, intended to provide flotation until rescuers arrive.
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Dropping a raft close enough to people in the water for them to reach it easily, but without risking hitting them, has always been a challenge. Tekever鈥檚 solution is a trained AI that uses camera data with detection algorithms to determine the position of people in the water.
It combines this with instrument data about the aircraft height and speed, plus weather data, to calculate an exact drop point. This allows it to automatically place the raft where it is needed, currently set for 50 metres from people, requiring only a go-ahead from the remote operator. CLS will provide the satellite communications so the AR5 can be controlled from a distance.
It is estimated that more than 1400 people drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in 2020 while attempting to migrate. 鈥淒rones carrying small life rafts clearly have the potential to save lives in certain situations,鈥� says at Drone Wars, a non-governmental organisation based in the UK that tracks government use of uncrewed aircraft.
鈥淚 am very sceptical that this UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] will not end up being used by border force agencies at some point, but it鈥檚 hard to say conclusively at this stage,鈥� says Cole. 鈥淲e know the AR5 has been used by EMSA for 鈥榞eneral maritime surveillance鈥�.鈥�
for in several seas, and collaborates on various matters with Frontex, the European Union鈥檚 border and coastguard agency.
A spokesperson from Tekever says: 鈥淭ekever AR5 will not be used to look for migrants, or gather data on migrant boats which would be passed to Frontex.鈥�
Cole also thinks the drones could deter migrants. Newspaper reports suggest that migrants sometimes attempt to escape detection by crossing on foggy days, but the AR5 sensors still work in these conditions.
If the area is fully patrolled by drones, some people may choose not to start off on a migration across the sea at all, knowing that they could be spotted and potentially stopped. 鈥淲hile having a search-and-rescue mission at its core, EMSA is slowly being transformed into a quasi-border security agency,鈥� says Cole.
He says that the drones aren鈥檛 a substitute for an effective maritime search-and-rescue service.
In addition to monitoring people trafficking, the EMSA programme may also use the drones to help counter illegal fishing, pollution and smuggling.
