According to EHang, on December 15, EHang announced that the autonomous aircraft EH216 has completed its first public flight at the National Police Academy in Avila, Spain by the Spanish National Police Headquarters, and has begun trial operation in Spain by the Spanish National Police Headquarters.
The public first flight ceremony was attended by a number of guests and officials from the Spanish National Security Agency, the Spanish National Police Directorate, the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA), members of academic institutions and the media.
From October 2021, the Spanish National Police Headquarters and EHang have reached a cooperation plan to apply the EH216 autonomous aircraft in emergency and public safety missions. Examples include access to contaminated areas with nuclear, bacteriological or chemical risks, landings in closed areas, logistics and other police services that may require flexible and efficient air traffic.
Francisco Pardo Piqueras, head of the Spanish National Police;
Montserrat Mestres Domenech, head of the Spanish National Aviation Safety Agency;
Pedro Prieto, Head of Aviation at the Spanish National Police; and
Victoria Jing Xiang, COO of EHang Europe and Latin America
The public flight was presided by Spanish Minister of State Security Rafael Pérez.
Perez said: “The Spanish National Police is the first security agency in Europe to put this autonomous aerial vehicle into trial operation. The unmanned aerial vehicle system is a special technological solution with wide application. For example, it can be deployed in dangerous areas after natural disasters or accidents without endangering people’s lives. Compared with traditional air vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles have obvious advantages, such as lower operating costs and continuous expansion of new application areas. “
Pedro Prieto, Head of the Aviation Department of the Spanish National Police, said: “The Spanish Police Headquarters is able to operate the EH216 autonomous aerial vehicle from a remote command and control station that may be located hundreds of kilometers away, demonstrating our commitment to achieving our digital transformation goals. “