First Responder UAS Use in Post-Disaster Environments

Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UASs or drones) are increasingly used by public safety agencies for a variety of missions, including for disaster relief. These post-disaster missions involve a set of threats that are distinct from the threats confronted by UAS on average flights. To help discover and analyze these threats we conducted a series of interviews with members of public safety agencies and asked them about their current UAS use. This paper contains a summary of the information we gathered in these interviews, as well as a discussion of some of the threats to UAS missions in post-disaster environments.