Border Surveillance: What Makes the Ecarys ES15 Ideal?

Fully operational, missions focused and cost effective, the European Border Guard Surveillance has found an excellent tool for its areal surveillance needs in the Ecarys ES15. Here’s how…

Multi-Mission Aircraft

AvBuyer | 17th May 2019

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The AvBuyer editorial team includes Matt Harris and Rebecca Applegarth who contribute to a number of...

Fully operational, missions focused and cost effective, the European Border Guard Surveillance has found an excellent tool for its surveillance needs in the Ecarys ES15. Here’s how…

The pressure on governments to monitor their borders is a hot topic. The European Border Guard is charged with monitoring and protecting its (and the EU’s) borders from people trafficking, smuggling, illegal immigration, arms smuggling, goods smuggling, combating terrorism as well as monitoring all sea, land and air security.

It’s a big operation and the two Ecarys ES15s are an important tool in carrying out this vital task in an efficient manner.

People don’t look up unless they are alerted. It’s obvious that the quieter the aircraft the less opportunity to alert those on the ground to the fact that they are being watched and monitored.

Operating at 7,000 feet makes the ES15 impossible to hear and if it is spotted then the profile is that of a glider.

The ES15 doesn’t attract attention which makes it ideal for this line of work.

Ecarys ES15: The Perfect Fit?

There were a number of other aircraft in the evaluation including twin-engine fixed-wing and helicopters. Ease of operation was another major factor in choosing the ES15. Pilot training is less onerous versus jet and twin-engined aircraft and with an hourly operating cost being less than a third of a twin-engine aircraft, it means that for the same budget the aircraft can provide an eye in the sky for longer periods.

The European Border Guard required the ability to provide imagery in real time to teams on the ground who can then direct forces to certain areas. The ES15 has a design that enables clean feeds of data which are not hampered by excessive heat from exhausts or engines.

With multiple hard-points for antennas and space for power and back-up power, the payload requirements from the European Border Guard matched the ES15 perfectly.

Choosing the right special mission aircraft for any given application is the key to effective and efficient surveillance and survey work.

Technological advancements over recent years means equipment is constantly becoming smaller and lighter. Sophisticated communications now provide the ability to relay information to ground stations.

All this means that aircraft do not require large payload capabilities and this has opened up the market to lightweight, cost effective platforms that offer huge flexibility to customers.

Discover More

If you would like to talk to an expert in this field the people at Gemstone Aviation based at Gamston Airport are a good place to start. Gemstone Aviation is the sole distributor of Stemme Ecarys aircraft in the UK and Ireland and are experienced in special mission projects.

More information from www.gemstoneaviation.co.uk and www.ecarys.com