Challenges and safety aspects of a disaster relief exercise

Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) spread rapidly in the last years, both for civil and military applications. The performance of Dangerous, Dull and Dirty missions implies a wide use of the sUAS, in particular to manage hazardous events, such as natural or manmade major incidents or mass casualty situations. The management and control of an emergency are crucial aspects for the rescue teams and training activities-through joined exercises- are basic for the development of coordination capabilities. The aim of this paper is to report an example of a joined exercise between Italian civil and military authorities performed in Moncalieri city (Turin) on May 2015. The main procedures and challenges of the civil and military protection services are analyzed. The exercise was performed in a critical scenario where the safety of the operators and population on the ground had to be taken into account. Therefore, international and national regulations are analyzed in the paper, in particular in terms of safety requirements and kinetic energy threshold at the impact. The paper deals with all aspects concerning the human health, from the safety during the small UAS operations to the medical applications.