Jersey has a future vision. A vision which encapsulates drones being deployed for search-and-rescue operations and fisheries patrols leading later to eVTOLs flying people between the Channel Islands, reports jerseyeveningpost.com. A delegation from Ports of Jersey visited Guernsey last week to provide a technical briefing on the planned trial, which is expected to begin in spring 2024.
Last year, it was announced that Jersey had been chosen as a testbed for the UK-government-funded Agile Integrated Airspace System (ALIAS) programme, which will see drones used to trial cutting-edge aircraft-guidance technology. The ultimate aim is for autonomous unmanned aircraft to be used across the UK and Europe.
Explaining why Ports of Jersey became involved in the project, director Robin MacRae commented, “We see ALIAS as a great opportunity, not just for Ports, but for the Channel Islands. It will enable us to move essential medical supplies, bolster our search-and-rescue capability and eventually provide air taxi services with the Channel Islands.”
He continued, “Sustainability is also important to us. We want to make swift progress on the decarbonisation of aviation, so we are keen to pursue opportunities to work with like-minded partners.”
Robin MacRae
In early 2022, Ports of Jersey published the “Ports Planet and People Plan”, setting out what it says is an ambitious series of goals to tackle the growing climate emergency and the threat to local biodiversity.
MacRae added, “We believe that the best way we can help build the future that Jersey deserves is by taking a leading role in developing a sustainable future for our island.”
During the ALIAS trial, the drones which have a two-metre wingspan and weigh between 10 and 20kg, will be flown within a 60 sq/km of low-traffic airspace about half a mile offshore and away from nature reserves. The aircraft, which will use specialist guidance software from technology firm Volant Autonomy, will fly below 3,000 feet, a height well under commercial-aircraft flight paths. Ports of Jersey has confirmed the drones will be fitted with cameras to film the trials, but that no images will be taken of Islanders.
Drones have already been used in various parts of the UK to deliver supplies or assist in emergencies. The craft transported chemotherapy and prescription drugs to the Isle of Wight during the pandemic, so that residents were not required to travel to the mainland.
The ALIAS Project
The UK Coastguard has also trialled the use of drones for search-and-rescue missions, while the Royal Mail is planning to deploy a fleet to deliver items to Shetland and other remote island communities.
(News Source: jerseyeveningpost.com)