Projects, Search and rescue, March 2026
Night search and rescue trial
A two-week trial. Vinga launched from a rescue boat at night, found a person in the water with thermal imaging and passed the position to the crew's radio.
The task
Finding a person in the water at night is slow and dangerous for the crew. The association wanted to know whether an aircraft launched from the rescue boat itself could shorten the search.
What we did
Over two weeks in March, Vinga was launched nine times from the deck of a rescue boat at night, with a volunteer in a survival suit as the target. The thermal gimbal was used in a pre-set search pattern over the area where the target was last seen.
What came out of it
The target was detected at ranges up to 1.2 km and positions were on the crew’s radio within seconds. The association has asked for a winter trial with ice in the water.
“The first time the thermal picture came up on the radio operator's screen, the whole crew went quiet. That is the moment you want in a rescue.”