The Department 13 Remote Operations Center for BVLOS Drone Operations

Department 13 Unveils New Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Australia

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Drone technology company Department 13 has unveiled its first Remote Operations Center (ROC), built to help meet the increased demand for Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations throughout several industry sectors across Australia.

BVLOS refers to the operation of drones outside of a pilot’s visible line of sight. Designing systems to safely pilot drones BVLOS requires advanced communication and control systems to identify airborne threats and vulnerable ground areas.  BVLOS flight offers significant benefit for the commercial industry, enabling both longer distance and greater automation.

The ROC was carefully designed in order to meet all requirements set in place by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for the safe use and control of a remote cockpit. These requirements guarantee that the ROC’s flight, communications, and information systems possess the adequate security to withstand redundancy impacts in worst-case scenarios.

Able to operate a variety of drone platforms, the ROC recently achieved success with its cutting-edge Nightingale Security Blackbird, a highly advanced, innovative drone.

The team of UAS pilots at Department 13 possess a variety of specialist aviation certifications, and each is an expert in the field of BVLOS operations, specially trained and approved to operate all D13 ROC platforms.

Department 13 currently has a series of critical national infrastructure organizations projects slated for 2022 that will benefit from the new ROC services. In conjunction with its highly specialized team, Department 13 is providing an innovative and valuable service around Australia and elsewhere, for its increasing customer base.

Read more about BVLOS flight:

• Iris Automation BVLOS Approval for City of Reno Fire Department
• The Longest Distance BVLOS Waiver Yet: Censys and Soaring Eagle Technologies
• Autonomous Drone Inspections at US Refinery: Delek US Gets BVLOS Approval with Percepto AIM
• BVLOS Drone Operations in New York: NUAIR Granted 35 Miles of BVLOS Flight in 50 Mile Drone Corridor

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.