There has been a large push for drones in South Africa, with security issues being a key concern.
The Gauteng Treasury, last November, said that it would allocate millions of rands to fight against crime, which included ten drones.
Earlier this year, the City of Cape Town also said it would invest millions to fight crime, including dashcams, gunshot location tech, and drones.
The national South African Police Service (SAPS) is also adopting drone technology.
Responding in a written parliamentary Q&A in June last year, Police Minister Bheki Cele said that the SAPS would purchase more than 150 drones over the next three years.
Due to the rising popularity of drones, Skyguard said that business executives should familiarise themselves with what is needed for a successful drone operation.
“Running a legal, licensed drone service is a complex enterprise and it’s the reason most companies choose to outsource this component of their security,” said Matthew Gordon, CEO of Sky Guard.
A Fortune Business Insights worldwide report said that drones will see compound annual market growth of 18.9% from 2021 to 2028.
“We’re seeing rising numbers of drone deployments in anything from property developments and large construction sites to mining, oil and gas, warehousing and farming operations,” Gordon said.
“The business case for drones in security is strong – they protect property, critical assets and infrastructure, are able to respond quickly to threats without physical confrontation of security personnel and can be used to record and gather evidence.”
However, he said that drones are highly regulated and licensed operators must comply with rules that manage all international commercial aviation.
In South Africa, running a commercial drone operation is similar to managing a small airline as they have many rules and regulations to follow, with regular audits performed by the SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).
“It’s important to manage expectations when setting up security drone operations because most people aren’t aware of the intense administration process and the time it takes to get off the ground legally. That said, once operations commence, the payback on investment is quick and the results significantly bolster any security operation,” he said.
He gave a number of considerations when setting up security drones:
Gordon said that businesses must plan ahead and have at least a three-month lead time when buying drones so that they can be processed, licensed and registered with the SACAA. Once licensed they can be insured. If used within 10km of an airport, the drone may need additional radio infrastructure to communicate with a control tower.
In addition, businesses must identify objectives by building modular systems that tackle tasks as needed. Most organisations will expand their fleet of drones as their needs take shape.
Businesses should also set a budget as drone operations have several costs, including the pilot, insurance, administration and regulatory compliance. There are several methods to finance drones, such as loan financing, outright purchase or rent-to-own.
It is also key to integrate role players by incorporating drones into existing security operations. Connections between drone crews, their equipment and security control tools keep everyone informed about what is being observed in the air.
Sky Gaurd said that drones become indispensable to security operations when entered into the mix, as they are usually first on the scene, their actions can be automated, and they can gather aerial images that can also be used for marketing or monitoring construction progress.
Read: South Africa’s big push to use drones for security and border control
