May 20, 2014

Brazil: World Cup Security enforced from the air







The ball will roll on the field, but one of the most important defenders for Brazil during the 2014 World Cup will be as high as 10 kilometers in the sky.A fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated by Brazilian security forces will be employed mainly around the borders and outside the urban areas of the 12 host cities, whose air traffic will be extremely restricted during the World Cup, according to Special Secretary for Security at Major Events Andrei Augusto Passos Rodrigues.“The UAVs are an extraordinary intelligence tool,” said Rodrigues, who has been discussing with the Federal Police (PF) and the Department of Defense how the aircraft will be utilized.

Because conventional, manned aircraft aren’t permitted to enter the same airspace where UAVs are operating, the Airspace Control Department must be notified 30 days in advance of any UAV flight.
The PF currently operates two UAVs, and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) operates four. This week, the FAB will receive a fifth, a US$8 million UAV to be used during the World Cup. Equipped with 10 high-definition cameras, the UAV requires a 10-person team to operate it.The UAVs can remain in the air between 16 and 37 hours.“We will carry out the missions designated by the World Cup security coordinators. They are the ones who will decide exactly how these vehicles will be utilized,” said Lt. Col. Renato Alves de Moraes, the commander of the Hórus Squadron (1st/12th Aviation Group) at the Santa Maria Air Force Base, 293 kilometers from Porto Alegre, the state capital of Rio Grande do Sul.

Also known as drones, the UAVs are called ARPs (remotely piloted aircraft in Portuguese) by the FAB.
At the ground control center, officials operate and guide the ARPs via satellite. The pilots run the missions and manually control the aircraft in real time through video monitors.The images are transmitted around the clock by high-definition color cameras equipped with zoom and an infrared system that captures images based on heat signatures. It’s possible to identify people standing under trees or those who are armed, depending on the distance from the target, according to the Air Force.The UAVs currently in use by the FAB can capture images within a radius of up to 250 kilometers.

“We can use these aircraft to observe the areas around the stadiums and possible protests. The UAVs allow us to see in various directions,” Moraes said. “One of the greatest advantages of them is the pilot is not exposed to risks or stressors that could compromise the mission during flights that can last up to 30 hours.”


http://infosurhoy.com/en_GB/articles/saii/features/main/2014/05/19/feature-01

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