On a mission to save lives, Strategic Response Partners (SRP) has announced the launch of their new specialized division aptly named SkyForceX. In their use of cutting-edge drone technology to completely revolutionize the way storm patterns and incoming severe weather are predicted, SRP is on a mission to save lives.
Now SRP will use their expertise on a whole new level to help their clients prevent business interruption due to impending storm damage. Their new custom unmanned aircraft systems will employ innovative meteorological technology to help provide site-specific early warning severe weather predictions.
The new SkyForceX crew is an Extreme Drone Team made of the world’s top 1% of drone pilots. With backgrounds in FPV Drone Racing, these pilots consistently train in extreme weather elements to test their drones and hone their piloting skills and mental acuity in extreme conditions. The team always strives to stay one step ahead of the storm, flying high above weather systems – all which provides them with accurate estimations of tornadic formations.
Along with their FAA part 107 certification, these pilots work tirelessly to acquire Certificate of Authorizations (COA) to fly when a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is governmentally enacted after catastrophic damage from a storm. Designed to be amongst the tornadoes, these high-speed waterproof impact resistant drone systems can help scientists, meteorologists and first responders carry out essential lifesaving services and research to better predict future events. This enables the further understanding of storm dynamics, all resulting in better and more accurate weather predictions.
Current warning systems can only predict severe storms and tornados approximately fourteen minutes in advance, leaving Americans and their businesses extremely vulnerable. The new technologies deployed by SRP have become an integral part of SRP’s Critical Response Team, known as StormForceX, comprised of Structural Engineers, Firefighters, Paramedics, and Search Dogs – all seasoned experts in disaster response and recovery. SRP can track these storms to provide warnings to their clients up to one hour in advance. That affords them sufficient time to carry out safety procedures, clear people from the path of these destructive tornadoes, and work to get everyone to safety. Capping off broken gas lines, terminating any exposed power lines, providing temporary shoring to prevent structural collapse and securing the building to prevent further loss.
At SRP, the SkyForceX Extreme Drone Team is integrated with the company’s Critical Response Team StormForceX during and after extreme weather events. The predictions that come from their drones and the FPV Racer’s situational awareness, significantly assist SRP in its positioning of the Critical Response Team in the right place at the right time. Using the drone’s GPS positioning, luminous nocturnal lighting, and thermal cameras, SRP has the unique ability to also search for victims and guide their Critical Response Team simultaneously.
For example, a drone was sent to monitor Hurricane Matthew off the coast of Florida in October of 2016 by NASA. By dropping sensors straight into the storm, the drone was able to monitor the temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed, and direction. It could then transmit all relevant information in real-time. The drone used was built for monitoring disasters with special radars that can also examine storm formation, structure, and intensification.
By collecting this critical data, Strategic Response Partners has the unique ability to save businesses, properties, and lives with more precise forecasts and advanced weather warnings. This is a huge shift in the weather forecasting industry and will forever change the way weather is predicted. Within the next decade, expectations are that drones will likely be the primary tool used for regular forecasting. As a result, drones will become the norm for standard measurement devices.
Viking Unmanned Aerial Systems, Inc., based in Maine, is helping SRP in the identification and integration of advanced drone technology by building custom, heavy-lift Octocopter V-Frame drones named Pulse V8by the SRP’s Critical Response Team. The Pulse V8 is a multirotor aerial platform designed for high-performance flight operations in the worst of conditions. Specifically, this system was designed for all-weather high-altitude operations, whereby this drone can accomplish a bevy of tasks, from scanning disaster areas to assisting with the detailed 3D mapping and thermal inspection of structures.
SRP has also designed a fixed-wing glider that is equipped with a weather sensor package. It was designed and authorized by the FAA to be launched, attached to a helium balloon, from ground zero up through the eye of a hurricane on its way to the edge of space at well over 100,000 feet into the sky, then released and flown directly back down into the eye of the hurricane with the advance metrological sensors gathering data in real-time. The scientific advancements deployed by SRP are unlike any other disaster response companies.
SRP has taken the lead in the development and integration of these weather and data sensors to help elite meteorologist predict areas that will be impacted by tornados and hurricanes. Having partnered with Viking UAS, who designs drones for the US Military and has over 700 airframe designs to their credit, has helped Strategic Response Partners is leading the way on these extreme missions to save lives and restore communities faster than ever before. The team’s cutting-edge advancements of integrating flight sensors and drone technology into weather technologies will help revolutionize the response time.
Source: Press Release