WINNIPEG – Manitoba RCMP showed off their new eyes in the skies Thursday.
But unlike the Winnipeg police who invested in a multi-million dollar helicopter to patrol the city, the Mounties have taken a smaller-scale approach: a pair of tiny remote control choppers which so far are used only to snap aerial photos of crash scenes.
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Each of the “unmanned aerial systems” costs about $30,000.
The Mounties stress the small craft are not drones of the type militaries use for patrols. The RCMP mini-choppers operate “under strict regulations” with special permission from Transport Canada.
“While its current use is focused on fatal and serious collisions along with crime scene examinations, other uses could include search and rescue, major event planning, environmental disaster response, suspicious object identification, and underwater recovery in clear shallow water, the RCMP said in a news release Thursday.
The units are located in Dauphin and Brandon.
The Mounties distributed photos of a simulated crash scene taken by the “UAS”.
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