Interior Announces 2017 Drone Mission Report

With a fleet of 312 unmanned aircraft, the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Office of Aviation Services flew nearly 5,000 missions in 2017 to support everything from fighting wildfires to monitoring dams and spillways and mapping wildlife. The accomplishments of its unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or drone program, can be found in a report announced today by DOI that summarizes flights made by more than 200 certified pilots in 32 states nationwide. Drone flights to support natural resource management across DOI, including support to firefighters suppressing wildfires, increased 82 percent from 2016 to 2017. The report breaks down the flights for more than 1,000 projects by agency, geographic area, and missions for wildfire and non-wildfire purposes. This past fire season, DOI conducted 707 drone missions on 71 individual wildfires. Drones were used by firefighters to gain a tactical advantage on wildfires by allowing them to improve their surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. The data and information gathered during these flights was used to support strategic planning for fighting wildfires. These advancements support the safety of our firefighters and the public through the detection of hotspots, improved mapping, and advanced monitoring of wildfires. The program started flying missions in 2010 with 208 flights. The aircraft are fitted with video cameras, infrared heat sensors, and other equipment that instantly deliver high resolution images. The DOI unmanned fleet includes 3DR Solo Quadcopters and Pulse Vapor 55TM Helicopters. The newest addition, a Hybrid VTOL Fixed-Wing, joins the fleet in early 2018. The next stage of the Department’s UAS program starts soon with the testing of a new class of drones to assist in fire suppression and fuels management. Scheduled for field trials later this spring, the new drones could assist firefighters with prescribed fires and with suppressing operations, especially during times when traditional firefighting aircraft can’t fly due to smoky conditions More than 4,200 of the DOI drone flights provided broad support to DOI lands and resources. Drone aircraft fitted with wide ranging sensors helped with inspection of dams and wells, wildlife surveys, monitoring of illegal dumping, and land mapping...press release