Coast Guard Deploys 7 Unmanned Helicopters on Patrol Ships to Enhance Maritime Search and Illegal Fishing Evidence Collection

Unmanned Helicopter
Photo by Korea Coast Guard

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The Korea Coast Guard announced on the 24th that it has pilot-deployed seven unmanned helicopters on patrol vessels of 1,500 tons or more in the East, West, and South Sea regions.

These unmanned helicopters can fly for up to 75 minutes using batteries and are equipped with an automatic flight function that allows them to return to the vessel even if communication is lost or a malfunction occurs.

They can transmit and receive real-time video and relay signals on land from distances up to 20 km away from the vessel, making it easier to document illegal fishing activities.

Considering the nature of missions carried out in harsh weather or nighttime conditions, the helicopters are also equipped with optical thermal imaging devices that detect heat from objects.

Additionally, the Coast Guard installed communication relay devices on the vessels, equipped with long-distance communication systems and encryption modules, to facilitate convenient operation of the unmanned helicopters.

The Coast Guard expects that the deployment of unmanned helicopters will greatly enhance the ability to search for missing persons and survey wider marine areas from the air in case of marine pollution, as well as quickly document illegal fishing activities by Chinese vessels for coordinated crackdowns with patrol boats.

A Korea Coast Guard official stated, "The unmanned helicopters use batteries to enable environmentally friendly mission execution," adding, "Through synergy with Coast Guard vessels, we have been able to enhance long-range mission capabilities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.