When They Team Up: Helicopter and Drone Coordination
We have seen how airborne law enforcement commanders can split tasks between drones and helicopters, thanks to their differing strengths. However, there are times when these two platforms are being teamed together to deliver superior results — proving the idea that drone and helicopter platforms are complementary, rather than competing.
“We have seen many examples of helicopters and drones working together,” Baker said. “Several years ago in Torrance, California, we saw where a search for a suspect of a home invasion was tracked by both a helicopter and a drone. The helicopter was used to distract the suspect, who was moving from one backyard to another. At the same time, the drone was able to track the suspect until they were in a position of vulnerability, at which point they peacefully surrendered.”
So how does drone/helicopter teaming work in practice? “In municipalities that operate both drones and helicopters, both are typically coordinated through a law enforcement agency’s operational control room,” Bucari replied. “The downlink, EO/ IR, and moving-map systems on the helicopter are usually replicated on the drone. Video feeds from either the drone, helicopter or both are then transmitted to the operational control room and ground personnel to coordinate synchronized movement based on the situation.”
Looking towards the future, Bucari expects helicopters and larger-sized drones to operate in full teaming mode within an airborne law enforcement agency’s mixed fleet. Make no mistake; teaming works. “Leonardo, as an OEM of both helicopters and UAVs, has already successfully demonstrated crewed-uncrewed teaming technologies and capabilities during different operational exercises, challenging high levels of crewed-uncrewed interoperability,” Bucari said. To date, such exercises have included the 2015 European Defence Agency “Italian Blade” exercise, the 2016 Royal Navy “Unmanned Warrior” exercise, the British Army Warfighting Experiment, and the European Defence Agency’s OCEAN2020.
During the 2024 European Defence Fund initiative MUSHER, a series of teaming exercises featured an AW189 super-medium twin-engine helicopter and the Leonardo SW-4 Solo RUAS/ OPH (rotorcraft uncrewed aerial system/optionally piloted helicopter) Technology Demonstrator. “During these missions, the AW189 controlled the remotely piloted aircraft at various levels of interoperability via a dedicated mission station installed in the cabin,” said Bucari. “This included real-time visualization and management of the SW-4 Solo’s payloads, up to full UAV control.”
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