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Drones support Estonian emergency services during pandemic

Estonian Air Navigation Services has enlisted the support of Threod Systems and Frequentis to support Estonian blue-light forces with a series of essential drone operations during the coronavirus lockdown.

The operations are supporting Estonian emergency services with medical transport and information gathering.

Threod Systems, an innovative Estonian UAS manufacturer, was approached by Estonian public health organisations and the Police and Border Guard Board. Frequentis, a renowned air traffic management (ATM) and unmanned traffic management (UTM) systems provider, who worked with EANS on its SESAR Gulf of Finland (GOF) unmanned airspace (U-space) trial in 2018 and 2019, was contacted to again provide its flight information management system (FIMS) which provides the Common Information Services (CIS) function to the operation.

In several regions of the country, the police, together with the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, have used drones to inform the public of the lockdown rules and to monitor activity. Local authorities also require support with transporting medical supplies to remote or island locations.

EANS continues to safely and reliably operate Estonian airspace, providing services to manned flights and international manned coronavirus relief flights, but the need to safely integrate drones for this special mission meant reactivating the Frequentis FIMS from the previous drone trials. The FIMS provides real-time situational awareness to air traffic controllers, enabling both manned flights and Threod drones to safely share the same airspace, providing controllers with the complete air situation picture.

EANS is currently developing the concept of operations for accelerating the roll-out of Estonian U-space. These drone operations supporting public safety during lockdown were another step closer outline the roadmap for enabling safe and secure integration of unmanned and manned aviation into Estonian airspace.

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