Last year the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) responded to seven missions a day on average. It saved more than 1,600 people, coordinated over 22,000 incidents and rescued over 7,000 people.

Now, the body plans to assess the use of drones for regular and routine flights, with demonstrations carried out using several unmanned aerial system drones.

Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani said that drone technology has “enormous potential” for the UK’s search and rescue teams: “This ground-breaking project will not only hope to boost the capabilities of our already fantastic teams but will also boost our ability to spot pollution hazards and protect our precious marine environment,” she said.

Phil Hanson, the MCA’s aviation technical assurance manager, said the use of drones in search and rescue, counter-pollution and maritime aerial observation operations could potentially increase overall efficiency as well as reduce the risk to personnel.

The MCA will work with Elbit Systems UK and the Civil Aviation Authority to carry out the demonstrations in the coming months.

The UK has been cracking down on illicit drone use by citizens as the number of near misses with aircraft has increased every year. However, the government is also looking to use automated drones to carry out certain tasks such as track inspection on railways and the UK was one of the first countries to allow Amazon to trial its drone delivery service in 2016.

Earlier this week, aviation regulators in the US began crafting new safety standards for specific drone models in one of the biggest steps yet for commercial deliveries by drone. The new guidelines are intended to vet the reliability and design of specific drones in a similar fashion to the way it assesses the safety of gliders and light aircraft. However, routine deliveries to customers are still expected to take years to become reality due to a litany of concerns over safety issues.

Last year the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) responded to seven missions a day on average. It saved more than 1,600 people, coordinated over 22,000 incidents and rescued over 7,000 people.

Now, the body plans to assess the use of drones for regular and routine flights, with demonstrations carried out using several unmanned aerial system drones.

Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani said that drone technology has “enormous potential” for the UK’s search and rescue teams: “This ground-breaking project will not only hope to boost the capabilities of our already fantastic teams but will also boost our ability to spot pollution hazards and protect our precious marine environment,” she said.

Phil Hanson, the MCA’s aviation technical assurance manager, said the use of drones in search and rescue, counter-pollution and maritime aerial observation operations could potentially increase overall efficiency as well as reduce the risk to personnel.

The MCA will work with Elbit Systems UK and the Civil Aviation Authority to carry out the demonstrations in the coming months.

The UK has been cracking down on illicit drone use by citizens as the number of near misses with aircraft has increased every year. However, the government is also looking to use automated drones to carry out certain tasks such as track inspection on railways and the UK was one of the first countries to allow Amazon to trial its drone delivery service in 2016.

Earlier this week, aviation regulators in the US began crafting new safety standards for specific drone models in one of the biggest steps yet for commercial deliveries by drone. The new guidelines are intended to vet the reliability and design of specific drones in a similar fashion to the way it assesses the safety of gliders and light aircraft. However, routine deliveries to customers are still expected to take years to become reality due to a litany of concerns over safety issues.