Insitu Pacific will deploy a ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS) over a four-day period in late June to test the system's ability to locate weed outbreaks in the Australian province of Queensland.
The Australian unit of US-based Insitu will conduct the trials on behalf of the Queensland government and Australia's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Insitu Pacific said in a statement.
The trials will take place in the far north of Australia's northern Queensland state. They will determine the effectiveness of the ScanEagle at finding and surveying Siam weed, an especially virulent weed variety.
"Using unmanned aircraft systems in this type of scenario provides a cost-effective alternative and decreases potential risks associated with sending out manned helicopter crews on long-duration, low-altitude surveillance missions where there is little margin for error," said Insitu Pacific.
Source: Flight International
