COLLARIS - Recommendations towards standardisation / interoperability for operational practices

Drones are becoming a typical equipment for more and more different crisis management services across European states. However, the internal operational practices related to the use of drones depend on the characteristics of individual institutional actors. They result from their habits, current legislation, types of missions performed, activity of ATM structures, etc. and therefore may vary not only among different countries, but also among different public services in the same state.

In order to ensure as smooth and as efficient as possible cooperation among different services dealing with a crisis situation when international aid is involved – be it in a form of bilateral assistance between Member States, cross-border problem or Union Civil Protection Mechanism activation – it is necessary to aim for interoperability of these practices.

There are usually the same basic steps that have to be followed in such a case. The incoming drone team has to confirm its formal ability to carry out legitimate flights. They have to establish communication with the relevant decision-making centre (the cell coordinating air missions of a scale compatible with the capabilities of incoming support). And last but not least, there is a need for tactical arrangements with the cell commanding the implementation of operations and with the cell aggregating information (e.g., the team responsible for updating GIS services).

Then and only then the “incoming” drones will be used in a safe and coordinated manner and the data and information they gather will be provided to the relevant services and resources involved in the crisis operation.

In this report practical suggestions which might facilitate operational cooperation among different stakeholders in such situations are offered. It also indicates areas which have the most impact on ensuring safe and efficient use of drones.

There are four key thematic areas identified during discussions with various drone experts during the trials in Valabre, Poznan and Solina: procedures for cooperation and coordination, legal considerations, specific aspects of ATC, data and GIS information sharing. For each of these areas detailed issues that should be addressed have been defined and they are presented in a form of a questionnaire/check list for both sides involved, i.e. the drone team coming to a different country (so-called Assisting Force Questionnaire) and the state receiving the aid (so-called Host Nation Support Questionnaire). There are also detailed instructions/suggestions how the questionnaires should be filled in and what practical information would need to be provided by both sides.

As already mentioned, the key thematic areas for interoperability have been identified on the basis of inputs from COLLARIS Network members and drone specialists from several other states who participated in the UCPM Exchange of Experts Programme in Valabre and Poznan and in the exercises in Solina.