RCIPS Operate Small Unmanned Surveillance Aircraft (SUSAs), 1 August

The RCIPS have been operating a Small Unmanned Surveillance Aircraft (SUSA), commonly referred to as a “drone,” for over a year now.  The equipment operates and is regulated under a commercial Civil Aviation Authority Cayman Islands permission, through the management of the Air Operations Unit, and has been under assessment and development to identify the appropriate level of equipment and tasking.  The initial equipment, a DJI Mavic Pro, has been used for securing scene evidence and remote searches, producing high level professional imagery, and also to train officers outside of the Air Operations Unit to a level of professional operator competence.

As a result of these trials and assessments, the RCIPS have invested in the purchase of a larger capability DJI Matrice 210 model.  This is a commercial standard SUSA capable of multiple swappable camera payloads dependent on the use and tasking.  The trained operators are gaining more experience, and the public of the Cayman Islands are likely to see this equipment regularly deployed in support of critical police operations.

The RCIPS Air Operations Unit is deploying the equipment on test and demonstration at the interdepartmental First Responders Inshore Search & Rescue Exercise on Wednesday, 1 August.