Unmanned Support gives Lowland Rescue a Lift
The Association of Lowland Search and Rescue (ALSAR) is the UK’s governing body working across the UK to provide support for a range of rescue teams. If you are unfortunate enough to sustain an injury or fall into a river, it is these teams you will want to come looking for you.
Searches can be assisted by a birds-eye view so the charity has been slowly rolling out drone technology across the teams over the recent years.
But drones cost money but as household and business budgets get stretched by the cost-of-living crisis, funds aren’t easy to find.
Unmanned Support is doing its bit by offering free of charge membership to registered charities that are making use of drones. But while setting up the trade body, Unmanned Supports founder, Graham Degg, identified a way to help to this valuable charity.
A few years ago, Graham ran a training course and one of the attendees was James Morrison, a representative of the UK’s Ordnance Survey (OS). The pair stayed in occasional contact and at the beginning of 2025, James made contact to ask if Graham knew where OS could offload a number of Phantom 4 RTK drones.
Having been in recent touch with a contact at ALSAR, the answer was obvious. OS has drones, ALSAR needs drones.
A few weeks later the arrangements were made and the OS team of James and Tom Moir handed over 4 P4RTKs together with batteries, chargers and backpacks to the charity.
“Lowland Rescue teams are often unsung heroes, volunteers supporting emergency services in locating vulnerable missing persons in urban, rural and lowland areas. We are delighted that our retired equipment can continue to serve the public in such a meaningful way,” said Tom.
As Graham says, “There was such an obvious synergy between a lowland rescue service, which spends time helping folk who have injured themselves or just got themselves lost, and the UK’s leading mapmaker. If these drones can help just one person in distress or help train rescuers in the safe use of the technology, then this donation will have been worthwhile”.
The arrangement also helps ensure that these drones will get a second lease of life, always great to see in our throwaway society. Once tested and they will be distributed to various Lowland Rescue teams across the UK.
Would you like to support the UK drone community through Unmanned Support?