This week, Project Masam’s Technical Advisers in Aden, Yemen, have received an in-house Drone Pilot Training course to enhance the project’s technical survey for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) capacity.
The one-week DJI Drone Basic Flight Training course should add an extra level of information for technical surveys, particularly for surface-laid IEDs, including Houthi-planted passive infrared (PIR)-activated rockmines and tripwire-activated devices, as well as for claymore-type charges connected to pressure plates – all of which are found in large numbers across Yemen.
Armed with these new skills, Technical Advisers will be able to carry out drone-led building search, as well as an additional layer of information for the clearance of villages (the drone can be used to survey alleyways in between houses, for example) as well as rooftops – all of which could be invaluable in one of the world’s most landmine and IED-contaminated countries.
At the end of this course, all field Technical Advisers will undertake further training including Drone Survey Training, as well as building up their flight time, to become certified remote pilots.
The Basic Flight Training course consists of a series of modules, including: Basic Flight Controls and Procedures, Camera Functions, Basic and Advanced Flight Modes practices, Troubleshooting and Maintenance, Legal and Ethical Considerations as well as Simulated Scenarios and Challenges.
The International Mine Action Standard (IMAS) describes Technical Survey an an important means of identifying, confirming and improving definitions of the boundaries of hazardous areas and the nature and distribution of their contents. Technical Survey should be planned, implemented and adjusted in light of information obtained through non-technical means, including non-technical survey, and as a result of new information discovered during the Technical Survey.
