Urban-Air Port to work with West Midlands Police
Impression of City Box. Image Copyright © Urban-Air Port Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
On the 25th April 2022 Urban-Air Port Ltd (UAP) is set to reveal the world’s first operational Urban-Air Port for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) in Coventry, the 2021 UK City of Culture. As part of the launch, UAP are working with the West Midlands Police (WMP) Drone Team, to provide a public demonstration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), showcasing the technological innovations of Air One as infrastructure for take-off and landing and to build public awareness on the benefits of drone technology for use in emergency operations. WMP will also be providing specialist knowledge and expertise as part of UAP’s development of its concept of operations (ConOps), the blueprint for the successful running of the vertiport.
This is a significant partnership with the second largest police force in the country and the police lead of Coventry. Last year was a busy one for the drone team, with 3,450 flights taking place across the skies of the West Midlands. This increase in the use of drones in the fight against crime means the demand for a network of take-off and landing sites across the region is greater than ever and this is where Urban-Air Port comes in. Drones offer a zero emission alternative to helicopter pursuits and when urgent support is requested, can reach all areas of the West Midlands within minutes. The objective is that by introducing Urban-Air Port’s network of sustainable infrastructure, it will further reduce both response times and carbon emissions.
The other key focus of the Air One event is community engagement with schools, universities and the general public. Urban-Air Port and the WMP Drone Team will be on-site at Air One to inform and educate on the many questions the general public may have.
“It’s a great privilege to be working with West Midlands Police to enhance safety of our communities and set new benchmarks in how through the use of technology we can provide greater security via quicker response times with zero emissions. Growing up in Birmingham as a child, I’m delighted to be able to support West Midlands Police’s heroic efforts in keeping us safe and deploying Air One as a Disaster Emergency Management & Security hub for their demonstrations - which is a model we hope to replicate across the country as we enter a Net-Zero-Age.”
“It’s an exciting time for the development of police use of drones. As a force we receive over 2,000 emergency calls a day, so the possibility of using drones to innovate the emergency service sector is endless.
Urban-Air Port will allow us to explore, showcase and implement what the future holds for policing the sky.”
Tickets will soon be available for the Air One event. Please standby for more details. The UAP and WMP drone teams look forward to welcoming you.
West Midlands Police have put together a short video on the effective use of drones in policing:
Contact
For more images and/or more information, contact:
Lewis Evans
airone@urbanairport.com
Notes to editors
About West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police is the second largest police force in the country, covering an area of 348 square miles and serving a population of almost 2.8 million. Geographical areas covered include Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Coventry.
West Midlands Police has its own dedicated drone team with 46 qualified pilots covering the force area. It offers drone coverage to operational officers 24/7.
About Urban-Air Port®
Urban-Air Port Limited is developing fully autonomous zero-emission ground infrastructure for new forms of sustainable urban air transport such as air taxis and autonomous delivery drones. Its mission is to remove the largest single constraint to sustainable air mobility – ground infrastructure – In order to create a zero-emission-mobility ecosystem that will significantly cut congestion and air pollution from passenger and cargo transport. Urban-Air Port is recognised as a world leader in the Advanced Air Mobility sector, with plans to deliver over 200 vertiports across the world in the next five years – ultra-compact, rapidly deployable, operations hubs for manned and unmanned vehicles providing aircraft command and control, charging/refuelling, and cargo and passenger loading. Its world-first Air-One project in Coventry City Centre will be operational from April 2022. The company is backed by major international partners, including Supernal. Urban-Air Port’s team of innovators, aeronautical engineers and aerospace experts have worked at companies including Airbus, Foster + Partners, Arup, JP Morgan, Knight Frank, British Aviation Group, Qinetiq and Uber, and in the UK Defence Sector.
Visit www.urbanairport.com for more information and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Air-One, Coventry
Urban-Air Port’s Air-One site – its world-first fully-operational hub for eVTOL aircraft – will be unveiled in Coventry City Centre in Spring 2022 to showcase how sustainable urban air mobility can reduce congestion, cut air pollution and decarbonise transport while providing seamless passenger journeys and deliveries.
Urban-Air Port® chose Coventry for the first site due to its important location in the heart of the UK and because it is a historic hub for the automobile and aerospace industry, with a pool of people and skills that can support the R&D and advanced manufacturing industries of the future.
