Department 13 Drone Technology Protects Australian Critical Infrastructure Sites

Department 13’s Nightingale Security Blackbird drone

Department 13 is working with another national critical infrastructure organization in Australia to enable the safe and controlled use of autonomous drone capabilities at multiple sites. The new drone fleet’s capabilities will be leveraged to innovative business operations, efficiencies and outcomes across the site and organization.

Integrating Department 13’s specialized drone technology into the site’s current operations will elevate safety and security postures and enable a range of autonomous duties to be conducted by the new drone fleet.

“This is an incredibly exciting application of our technology. Not only are we advancing the clients unique security and safety requirements to strategically protect the sites critical infrastructure, people, and IP – we’re developing new ways for the drones to also assist the organization on a broader level with integral autonomous duties and data collection that can be scheduled to occur as they please,” said Department 13 CEO, Lee Croft. “It’s making the drones multi-task and be incredibly effective and efficient in their roles and responsibilities at the site. In turn it’s allowing the boots on the ground to refocus their time and efforts to more important matters.”

Supporting the organization through the entire technology integration, Department 13 will help plan and manage all mandatory compliance work required by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations at the site. 

Department 13 will conduct comprehensive assessments of ground and air risks pertinent to the site’s operation areas, and de-conflict surrounding airspaces by engaging with nearby stakeholders and take into consideration any of their current air management arrangements. 

Custom operating procedures will be produced, and workshops held with the end users and CASA to ensure safety and compliance requirements are clearly aligned and achieved. 

State-of-the-art Nightingale Security Blackbird drones deployed at the site are Department 13’s self-sufficient aerial capability that can be deployed anywhere in Australia and be operated by Department 13’s in-house 24/7 Remote Operations Center (ROC). 

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