Satellite monitoring center and new firefighting aircraft: the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the elimination of emergency situations
This was announced by Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Sergey Goncharov during a round table within the framework of the forum “Big Construction: Aviation. Tourism”, which took place today, November 25, at Boryspil International Airport.
“Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky announced the creation of an aviation European hub, the main idea of which is to expand opportunities in the fight against forest fires. We must not only counteract, but also predict the occurrence of such emergencies. That is why the Ministry of Internal Affairs proposes to create a Situation Center for satellite monitoring, which will detect forest fires at an early stage, take thermal satellite images and monitor the situation not only in Ukraine, but also in the territory of other European states (at their request), - Serhiy Goncharov noted.
The Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs noted that an important issue remains the increase in the number of firefighting aircraft.
“Currently, the SNS has four An 32p aircraft that operate in high altitude conditions, take off from unconnected runways and can carry 8 tons of water for firefighting. We plan to increase their number by 2028 to be able to fight fires and help other countries. By the end of this year, we expect to sign a contract with SE “Antonov” for the purchase of another aircraft,” said Sergey Goncharov.
Deputy head of the State Emergency Service Ruslan Beloshitsky noted that the State Emergency Service has already received six helicopters of French production H-225.
“In total, the SNS has 20 units of aviation equipment - 7 aircraft and 13 helicopters. Strengthened the material and technical base, in particular, rebuilt hangars for the preservation of aircraft, began to build a service center that will serve the equipment of not only the Service, but also the Ministry of Internal Affairs as a whole, trained 54 aviation specialists,” he said.
In addition, the development of aeromedical evacuation, which was launched this year by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Health, remains an important project. In two years, the entire map of Ukraine will be closed by helicopter bases for aeromedical evacuation and transportation of donor biomaterials. Currently, the issue of using not only Airbus Helicopters H-145 helicopters, but also domestic Mi-2 SMB-1 is being considered.
The head of the Department of Aviation and Water Police of the National Police of Ukraine Serhiy Naumenko said that since September this year, 65 flights have been made by police helicopters H-145 to evacuate people in need of medical assistance.
“Just today, two people were transported from Kyiv and Lviv regions who were in critical condition. At the moment, helicopters are only on duty during daylight hours, next year we are included in the work 24/7,” he said.
As a reminder, Denis Monastyrsky got acquainted with the possibilities of the Ukrainian enterprise for the project of the Unified Aeromedical Space in Zaporizhzhia.
Department of Communications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
Photo by Andriy Novitsky
