Added 29-8-14
Nearly every night I see a bright light in the southern sky. It is a police helicopter using its “Nitesun” searchlight and hovering over Leyton. The Metropolitan Police only have three helicopters, and like all helicopters they are fuel-thirsty and maintenance intensive machines. Is there a better way to provide a continuous overhead presence over high crime areas while freeing helicopter assets for tasks that need their capabilities?
Many neighbourhoods in major cities would benefit from the presence of police airships. Such airships would be fitted with Nitesun, Skyshout, cameras and FLIR. It is possible that these airships will be remotely piloted, allowing them to be smaller, cheaper to produce and operate and allowing them to remain aloft for a longer period of time.
For most of their time, these airships will be tethered to a ground station, floating high above the city and maintaining a vigil over the local area. Areas such as football stadiums, large parks and major road junctions will be good locations for airship tethers. When needed, the airship can detach from its tether to fly free to a location where its surveillance capabilities are needed. Slowed by a drogue chute, the tether is reeled in by the ground station as it descends. To further minimize any hazards from the falling tether the ground station is placed in an open area such as a football ground or flat rooftop. A method of steering the end of the tether to control its fall should be feasible.
Police RPV airships would greatly increase the capabilities of police forces while freeing helicopters for the pursuit and evacuation duties that they are more suited for.
By the Author of the Scrapboard : | |
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