Dubai Police drones showcased at Gitex

Dubai: Dubai Police said on Monday that they have tested their newest drone ‘Sanad’ in police operations scenarios that go well beyond the purview of crowd monitoring tasks it is currently used for.

“In addition to securing matches and labour strikes, we have tested it out in multiple police operations scenarios and it was a success,” Captain Bishr Saeed Al Muhairi, from the Department of Protective Security and Emergency of Dubai Police, told Gulf News.

Four different drone models used by Dubai Police were on display at Gitex on Sunday. Police did not elaborate on what specific scenarios the drones had been tested for.

Captain Al Muhairi said the newest drone ‘Sanad’ (which means support in Arabic) was designed and assembled by a Dubai Police engineer.

“It was designed on AutoCad and then we got the materials locally and assembled it. It can carry up to 50kg and has a battery life of between 30-45 minutes. If the battery is about to run out, it alerts the operator and asks whether it should complete the mission or return,” he added.

If for some reason the drone is destroyed during a mission, the data is not lost. “The drone transmits all the data it collects real-time to the radio transmitter used to control the drone,” Captain Al Muhairi said.

The drone, which has a light and sturdy carbon fiber body, usually flies at a height of one kilometre. The drone can also go higher, but police said it was not necessary. It carries a high-definition camera that can rotate 360 degrees. “One of these drones costs around Dh100,000,” he said.

The drone is cost effective, as it is more economical that sending a helicopter, which requires fuel and officers to fly it. Five people have been trained to use the drone, Captain Al Muhairi said.

He said that the drone has also been used to monitor ships in Dubai waters.

Only one of the Sanad drones was on display at the event.