Criminals in South Africa will be dealt a further blow in the near future with the introduction of an unmanned aerial surveillance drone by the South African Police Service.
It is expected to greatly help in directing the activities of police on the ground.
Briefing the media at Parliament on Thursday, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said police were currently developing an operational plan to deploy the drone.
But, it would be deployed on a ”trial run” during the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg over the next two weeks, he said.
Reluctant to give specific details on the observer drone’s capabilities, Nqakula said it could stay in the air for ”a long period of time” and ”nobody can shoot it out of the air”, as it could not be seen from the ground.
It was capable of providing high quality pictures, which could be even further enhanced in a laboratory.
Other countries had also shown interest in the drone, which ”possibly has no parallel in the world because of its character”, and was produced by Denel, he said.
The current model was in the process of being upgraded, and the new advanced model would be the one acquired by the SAPS.
Nqakula added that the new helicopter fleet obtained by the police to provide air support to mobile task teams, would be expanded over the next few years. – Sapa