National Security & Policing

The eyes in the sky that aide homeland security agencies

Employing disparate platforms and multiple sensors over an expansive geography, homeland security poses significant challenges at the platform selection, sensor integration and operational levels. Creating a datalinked network of information-sharing platforms, however, has the potential to increase value for money and, more importantly, enhance operational effectiveness, as a seemingly complex aircraft fleet becomes a mutually supportive team.

Homeland security is about people – keeping them safe, detecting and acting against illegal activity, delivering help quickly and efficiently whenever and wherever it is needed, and maintaining a presence to reassure and deter. Geography is a crucial deciding factor in how those results are achieved, in particular whether a maritime element is required, but the extent of patrolled borders and terrain are also significant.

Requiring persistence and careful observation, border patrol and protection may lend itself to a UAV operation, but which type of UAV – line of sight or beyond line of sight? And how does such an operation comply with local regulatory constraints? But then there is no technological replacement for the sharp eyes and honed instinct of an airborne human operator, so ought the UAV supplement crewed helicopters or light fixed-wing aircraft?

Illegal and economic migration pose challenges on land and at sea. Regular patrols with advanced sensors are as important for establishing ‘normal’ as they are for spotting criminal activity. But as with all sensor-equipped platforms, some of the data gathered is surplus to the mission yet potentially valuable elsewhere. Datalinking to a control centre, the cloud, or direct to anther platform, therefore enhances operational effectiveness manifold.

The sensors of a twin-turboprop, for example, searching for a vessel involved in criminal activity, might also detect pollution on the water, enabling the timely launch of other services to prevent environmental damage. Equally likely, it could spot a vessel in distress, triggering a SAR scramble with the immediate prospect of saving lives.

This information advantage can be applied over land with similar benefits. Equip a platform with an infrared sensor, for example, and it is ideally suited to border patrol. But that IR kit is equally capable of detecting accidental or natural fires, enabling prevention or swift containment.

Extending the networking concept to encompass aircraft engaged in homeland security, resource monitoring and law enforcement brings these discrete missions into a single data-gathering entity, enhancing efficiency in every task, regardless of market, by sharing relevant data from other platforms, while expanding homeland security operations through the exploitation of otherwise unused information.

Systems commonality, efficient data gathering and exploitation, platform optimisation, and robust command and control are critical factors in effectively deploying homeland security aviation assets. Gama Aviation’s platform agnostic approach, market knowledge, and compliance and operational know how make it the primary choice for complex mission fulfilment. Bringing with them industry-leading experience, Gama Aviation’s subject matter experts are ready to offer advice on upgrading existing systems and acquiring new platforms, to deliver engineering and operational support, or provide complete, turn-key solutions.

Ultimately, combining your homeland security requirements with our law enforcement expertise delivers market-spanning, integrated solutions, enhancing operational and cost effectiveness on every mission.