Aerial search that covers ground a team cannot walk.
Aerial search support for ground teams — thermal and optical sweep of terrain that takes hours to cover on foot.
Thermal and optical
Live observation, coverage record
Under the direction of the tasking agency
Covering ground that walking cannot
A search team on foot moves slowly through difficult terrain, and the area that has to be covered grows with every hour that passes. An aircraft carrying thermal and optical payloads can sweep a defined search area far faster than a ground crew can walk it, and can see into terrain — steep slopes, gullies, treelines — where a person on the ground has almost no sightline.
Aerial search supports a ground effort; it does not replace one. We work to the direction of whoever is running the search, fly the sectors we are assigned, and pass what we find straight back to them. Thermal is most effective in cool conditions where there is contrast between a body and its background, and least effective under dense canopy or over warm ground — knowing the limits matters as much as knowing the capability.
What you get
Systematic thermal and optical sweep of the sectors you assign
Live observation passed to the search coordinator as it happens
Geotagged imagery of anything flagged, with coordinates for ground follow-up
A coverage record showing which ground was actually swept, and when
Post-search imagery archive for the coordinating agency
How it works
Coordinate first
We work under the direction of the agency or team running the search. Nothing flies until tasking, sectors and communications are agreed with them.
Plan the sweep
Assigned search sectors are converted into flight patterns matched to terrain, vegetation and the conditions on the day.
Fly and observe
Sectors are swept systematically, with anything of interest reported to the coordinator immediately rather than at the end of the flight.
Hand over
Coverage and imagery are handed to the coordinating agency so the ground effort can act on it.
Common questions
Do you replace official search and rescue?
No — and it matters to be clear about that. Ground search and rescue and the agency having jurisdiction lead any search. Aerial capability supplements their effort and operates under their direction. If someone is missing, your first call is emergency services, not us.
How well does thermal actually work?
It depends heavily on conditions. Thermal performs best where there is genuine temperature contrast between a person and the background — cool air, open or lightly vegetated ground. It performs poorly under dense canopy, over ground still warm late in the day, and through heavy rain. We would rather set that expectation up front than overstate what a sensor can do.
How quickly can you be airborne?
That depends on distance, weather, airspace and daylight, so we will not quote a response time we cannot honour in every case. What we can do is talk through availability and constraints in advance with agencies and teams who may want to call on aerial support.
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