EMSA RPAS Maritime Surveillance

The EMSA RPAS Maritime Surveillance program provides Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) services to EU member states and agencies for multipurpose maritime surveillance, including coast guard functions like search and rescue, pollution monitoring, emissions control, fisheries control, and environmental protection, using aircraft equipped with cameras, radar, AIS, and rescue capabilities. Operational since at least 2018 with deployments such as over the Gulf of Genova and regional operations in the Baltic and Black Seas, it involves contracts with consortia like REACT (CLS-Tekever) and others like Nordic Unmanned and Airbus, with over 1200 flight hours logged by 2022. From a defense-intelligence perspective, it enhances EU maritime domain awareness, cross-border cooperation, and surveillance in high-risk areas without crew exposure, complementing manned assets for security, border control, and counter-trafficking.