Covid-19: Spain's UME deploys multirotor UAVs to combat pandemic

Spain’s specialist Military Emergency Unit (UME) is making use of modified unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to support military intervention efforts to mitigate coronavirus outbreaks in large and often difficult to access urban areas.

As part of the military Operation ‘Balmis’, the unit has deployed as many as 1,100 of its personnel daily, with operations centred on cleaning streets and major infrastructure such as airports and railway stations.

As well as its other tasks in co-ordination with the three main armed services, the para-military Guardia Civil police, and regular police forces, the UME has been “seeking ways to improve procedures to each day be more effective in the fight against Covid-19”, a spokesperson for the unit told Jane’s .

For its Transmissions Battalion (BTUME) that has included fielding two DJI Agras MG1 multirotor UAVs loaned by local company Stock RC and a Hexa AG system from Sevilla-based manufacturer DroneTools.

According to DJI specifications, the Agras MG1 has a 1,520 mm wide footprint and a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 24.5 kg. Eight 770 W motors enable it to fly at a maximum speed of 22 m/s, although it typically operates at speeds of around 8 m/s. It carries a 10-litre liquid tank and a quad-nozzle spray system that dispenses its contents between a 4–6 m width depending on its altitude.

The DroneTool Hexa AG has a 1,580 mm wide footprint and a MTOW of 25 kg. It is also equipped with a 1-litre liquid tank and a quad-nozzle spray system, and typically operates at speeds of around 7 m/s.