These types of systems are the future for Defense, says Wim. “You can do almost anything with this. There will only be more drones and sensors, that is just very important.”
The big advantage of the system is that it can be controlled remotely. In an abandoned house in the training village, reservist Lucas sits a few hundred meters away with his duo. With a Playstation controller, an area is marked out and drawn behind a huge screen. “From here we plan the mission we give the drones and keep an eye on the system from where they take off.”
When five drones are flown, it is all hands on deck for the two reservists. “That is why there are two of us, so one can observe the images and one person controls the mission. It is truly a lot of multitasking and quite a challenge. You have many factors that you have to pay attention to.”
However, the drones also remain sensitive to weather conditions. On a training ground such as Marnewaard, also known as ‘Marnewoei’ among soldiers because of the wind, a major problem. “We are almost at sixty kilometers per hour in wind speed. That is actually just too strong for a drone that weighs about four kilos,” says Lucas. “We have a high and low pressure area. You hear it, I’m becoming a bit of a weatherman, but it is really an important factor.”
It means that the drones will remain on the ground today. This can also happen in an actual war situation. Adjutant Wim: “Then you will have to do it in a different way by driving more patrols. It remains a human job.”
For the safety of Defense employees, RTV Drenthe chooses to refer to soldiers only by rank and first name.