Spains Military Emergencies Unit to perform a drill with drones at UNVEX S&D

The 5th Intervention Battalion (BIEM V) of Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME) will perform an exhibition of drone use in emergencies on Thursday, May 30, at the Spanish Army’s Conde de Gazola military base.

The exercise is part of the broad program set up for the upcoming European summit on Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) in Security and Defense, Unvex S&D, which will be held in the northwestern Spanish city of León on May 29, 30 and 31.

The Unit will show the different missions that RPAS can perform in an urban rescue scenario. The drill will take place at the military base that is home to the BIEM V, which has been designed for training exercises in search-and-rescue scenarios.

The emergency professionals will put into practice the coordinated application of drones with the other means generally used in these operations. They will also display how the UME’s specialized RPAS operators obtain and process the in-flight data collected by the aircraft systems.

Last summer, the BIEM V took part in wildfire extinction efforts in the province of León, with the UME acting in coordination with the Spanish Army. As reported by this outlet, the Searcher MK III J used by the Obtainment through Aerial Systems Group (Grosa) took part for the first time in the regional government of Castile and León’s firefighting campaign. The Searcher patrolled the El Bierzo area, where statistics show that intentional fires represent 70 percent of the total. At the campaign’s close, it had detected 17 of the 31 focused fires that had erupted in the area.

Flight exhibitions

The Unvex S&D program includes the largest RPAS flight exhibition held in Europe to date.

Apart from rotary-wing drones – two of them of the Class I micro type – eight fixed-wing systems – most of them tactical – a tethered drone and three anti-drone systems, attendees will be able to see a MALE (Medium Altitude, Long Endurance) Reaper drone in flight.

This constitutes the first time that people will be able to enjoy three consecutive days of high-caliber RPAS exhibitions.

The flights will take place at the Conde de Gazola military base and the Virgen del Camino airbase.