Drone Rescue

We are forming an organisation to take advantage of the advancement of drone technology and proliferation of drone vehicles to assist in search and rescue operations as well as other area’s where we benefit the community. Drones are already being used in other countries around the world in search and rescue roles and our belief is that an organisation is required to facilitate and organise this capability in NZ.

Our goal is to co-ordinate and develop drone resources within New Zealand to form a highly effective nationwide search, rescue and disaster response capability. This will be achieved via a network of drone operators throughout the country who will react to any situation when required on a voluntary basis. These operators will be supported logistically and operationally by us. In addition to our volunteers we will also maintain a fleet of specialised drones to be deployed by dedicated staff as needed. These drones will be highly specialised for search and rescue employing high tech optical equipment such as infra-red and thermal and be designed to operate in difficult conditions for long periods of time.

There are countless benefits that drones offer that can supplement and enhance the capabilities of existing organisations. These include low cost, high geographic coverage, fast response, night operational capability and the ability to operate in high risk and difficult to access environments. With the decline in coverage of existing air rescue capability due to decreased funding particularly in more remote areas drones can help to fill the gap left by the reduction of these services.

To provide a fully effective service we need your help! If you can share our vision of the possibilities and the difference a drone rescue service can make in NZ please think about making a donation. We are an efficient organisation and every dollar makes a huge difference to us. Funding is needed for organisational costs, training, equipment, transport costs etc. so the more we receive the more we can give back to the community. There have already been many search and rescue events this summer where we believe we could have made a difference with greater resources.