A project in Italy has shown how a regional deployment of a drone-in-a-box system can assist in wildfire and emergency response operations.
The collaboration between Dron-e (Easy City Srls), the Calabria region’s operational partner for UAS activities in forest firefighting (AIB) and Unifly Consulting extended throughout the entire project lifecycle, from defining the operational concept and deployment strategy to supporting the practical integration of the technology into real-world emergency management activities.
“We worked to establish operational workflows, define procedures, responsibilities and safety processes, and ensure that the system could be deployed effectively across a wide range of geographic and environmental conditions,” Unifly said. “To enable flexible and scalable operations, we developed a framework allowing the operator to assess and validate local conditions whenever a base station is relocated. This approach ensured that the system could be safely and efficiently deployed across the region while maintaining a consistent level of operational readiness and safety.”
Unifly also prepared the necessary safety and regulatory framework, coordinated the authorisation process and worked with the relevant stakeholders to ensure that the proposed operating model was both compliant and practically achievable. As a result, the Calabria Region obtained ENAC Generic Authorization No. ITA-OAT-00174/000, enabling region-wide operations.
“Drone-in-a-box can provide a solution to the wildfire emergency by enabling responders to assess emerging incidents quickly, identify how a fire is developing and gain a clearer picture of the situation on the ground,” Unifly said. “Equipped with dedicated optical and thermal sensors, UAS can detect early signs of fire, enabling a faster and more effective response before the situation escalates.”
The company added that the ability to deploy a drone immediately when an anomaly is detected can also eliminate delays in gathering critical information, by reducing the time between detection, assessment and intervention.
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Image: Unifly