The COLLARIS Network is pleased to publish two more deliverables that may benefit the European UAS (unmanned aerial systems) community within civil protection and disaster response. These results are perfectly in line with the overall goal of the network - increasing the efficiency of UAS operations (such as drones) by bringing knowledge closer to operational use.
The newly published D2.2 provides an overview of current state-of the-art practices of training for the use of UAS among European first response and civil protection stakeholders, as well as an assessment and recommendations. It also recognises a growing need to strengthen training organisations to cater for collaboration and cooperation within and across different domains of civil protection in the EU in order to ensure the safe and effective use of UAS operations and to enhance social acceptance of state-based authorities’ use of these technologies.
Using the case of the Police in Sweden as a starting point for the discussion, the report includes overview of examples of training from a number of European stakeholders (from Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Poland and Sweden). These non-exhaustive examples build on a basic survey conducted by the project together with dialogues with individual stakeholders. They aim to open up for further dialogues within the consortium and between stakeholders alike to increase knowledge exchanges and deepen learning on the subject.
D2.3, on the other hand, presents the universal training material developed within the framework of the COLLARIS project, aimed at enhancing the competencies of multi-agency personnel in deploying UAS for crisis management and disaster response. The centrepiece of this material is a structured tabletop exercise designed to address critical challenges in air traffic management, communication, and collaboration during complex emergency scenarios.
By participating in this exercise, responders, specifically commanders and UAS pilots, from different agencies can develop essential collaboration skills, test their understanding of UAS capabilities, and address potential gaps in coordination, ultimately leading to safer, more effective emergency response operations. This table top exercise material can be used as it is or as inspiration for own further development, adjustment of exercise goals, elaboration on scenario etc. It is based on the experiences and findings of previous COLLARIS deliverables, and its structure is inspired by the MELODY project training material, the PROSPERES project and guidebooks published by MSB.
You can access both deliverables on the COLLARIS project website (see “Outputs and results”).
COLLARIS (COLLaborative network on unmanned AeRIal Systems) is a capacity-building initiative to develop a sustainable European network of scientific, engineering, and end-user expertise related to unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in civil protection and disaster response. COLLARIS offers a networking platform as part of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network for information exchange and experimentation with advanced concepts of UAS for disaster response and crisis management. These activities are accompanied by thematic workshops, webinars, and moderated discussions, as well as trials and embedded first responder trainings, aimed at increasing the efficiency of UAS operations by bringing knowledge closer to operational use. In 2025 and 2026, the network continues as COLLARIS2.