Surf Life Saving NSW has been given a first look at drones that could help crews spot sharks, monitor floods and locate missing people off the NSW coast.
The aircraft will be trialled for a week in June to test their capabilities and gauge whether the existing coastline surveillance program can be extended.
Surf Life Saving NSW runs the largest coastal drone surveillance program in the southern hemisphere, with more than 200 devices and hundreds of staff.
NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said the new technology proved “the possibilities are endless”.
“This is a really exciting project and could prove to be a game-changer in the way our emergency services respond to a whole range of public safety services, from shark management to fire and floods, to search and rescue operations,” he said in a statement.
The existing drones were used by NSW emergency services during last year’s floods, during which communities were cut off by inundated roads.
The trial will run the new drones further distances for longer periods to test their use beyond their operators' lines of sight.
Surf Life Saving NSW drone program head James Bassam said the devices could also provide further protection for emergency workers who often risked their lives on the job.
“We have a huge staff base spread around NSW but we don't want to put them at unnecessary risk during flood or fire situations,” he said.
“These platforms will instead allow us to bring headlands together along the coast and quickly mobilise and get to locations inland.”
The project is funded by the NSW government.
