This is Part 1 of a 2 Part Series on Using Drones for Survival Security Monitoring

In an emergency, knowing what’s going on around you will be crucial. While you may have the necessary materials and skills to survive, being aware of potential problems is vital. In some instances, the threat may not be criminal. It may be a natural disaster like wildfires or a wild animal endangering the herds or flocks. Monitoring the whole property, including its boundaries, can be challenging. For this, get a drone!

Drone technology offers a better option for monitoring your surroundings from a safe distance. These unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, or drones, can be used in urban, rural, or suburban areas.

Maintaining a bird’s-eye perspective on your surroundings helps safeguard your property, resources, animals, and family. It allows you to observe issues such as damaged fencing that should be fixed or potential food sources like wildlife.

Investing in survival equipment is a clever safety measure and a prudent investment that can benefit you and your family in several ways. Before purchasing a random drone, you should educate yourself on what features to look for and how to operate it properly. We have prepared a helpful guide to assist you in making an informed decision.

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1. Different Types of Drones Suitable for Survival Security

There are two main types of drones you may want to consider for survival, surveillance, and security: quadcopters and fixed-wing aerial drones. The main difference is that you can hover in place with a quadcopter, but a fixed-wing drone has to keep moving.

Both of these have their pros and cons.

QUADCOPTER DRONE:

• A quadcopter has four rotors, and it takes off and lands vertically.
• This might be beneficial in an urban setting with buildings and tight spaces.
• They’re easy to maneuver, and you can alter directions rapidly when needed.
• One drawback of some quadcopters is their shorter flight time, so they may not be able to travel as far as a fixed-wing drone.
• They use more battery life, and they’re not as wind-resistant as other forms of drones.

FIXED WING DRONE:

• A fixed-wing drone, similar to an airplane, will provide you with the flight time and distance capabilities you want, especially in a rural setting where you need to cover many acres or miles.
• Because they can glide, they’re not energy hogs compared to the quadcopters.
• However, they need space for takeoff and landing, similar to how an airplane gets airborne.

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Your location will play a significant role in your chosen drone type.

• Choose a quadcopter if you only use it for short surveillance or in city spaces.
• Use a fixed-wing drone to reach significant distances and to have unobstructed airspace.

Another consideration is space. If you have plenty of space and portability isn’t a concern, then fixed-wing drones work fine. But quadcopters are more compact and can be easily moved from one location to another.

Quadcopters are also more beginner-friendly. But you’ll have a learning curve either way, so if you need a fixed-wing drone for distance and time reasons, go ahead and start with that instead of having to switch gears and learn later.

2. How to Use Drones for Survival Security Missions

Let’s discuss how these gadgets will be used for your survival security measures. This is something the military uses, and ordinary people can use, too. In terms of survival, it can help you locate things you need, like a natural water source.

It can tell you what type of landscape you’re approaching and if there’s any danger ahead that you need to avoid. It’s a risk assessment tool, whether you’re talking about people who may pose a threat or something else.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links, meaning I will get a small commission for qualifying purchases at no extra cost to the buyer.

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Drones can also be used for rescue missions. You might have someone in your group go foraging for food and not return, and a drone can help you find them in a hurry if they’ve been in an accident or gotten lost.

You can use a drone to inspect the entry points of your property and ensure no one has breached the gated area. If you’re in a location with bears or large wildcats, a drone can help you avoid encountering one.

Depending on what type of drone you get, you may be able to zoom in on things and get a clear, close-up view from the sky. This real-time assessment will help you make decisions.

Some drones have advanced features like thermal and night vision capabilities, perfect for detecting living beings and surveilling at night. If someone is hiding from the drone, a thermal scope can spot them.

You can also find drones that auto-track moving targets or let you enter an automated route that it will take like a flight pattern, so you don’t have to continually pilot it manually for its proper course.

Remember that some drones are loud and visible, while others have stealth capabilities. If you don’t want your drone spotted, you can get quiet propellers and coatings that will not reflect light.

3. Thermal Imaging and Night Vision Technology to Help with Surveillance

As previously mentioned, some drones have thermal imaging and night vision capabilities. Let’s dive into this more deeply because you want to surveil your property at night and identify anyone hiding at any time.

These two options will significantly enhance your security. Even in poor weather conditions, the drone can still pinpoint a living being (animal or human) without much light.

Predatory beings often count on the fact that they can be concealed in the dark by hiding in brush or camouflage. You don’t want their presence to go undetected. These options also give you better abilities to search and rescue missing people (or animals like a pet or part of your herd or flock) if they’ve become separated from the rest of you.

Read this – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle aka Drone

In terms of natural disasters, thermal options even show you other forms of heat, like a smoldering fire or gas leaks in some instances. This is wonderful if there’s thick smoke and you must try to find someone.

Some drones only have one or the other—thermal or night vision—but there are hybrid drones that provide both. Pay attention when shopping to see what your drone options have and what generation they are.

There are older generations of night vision capabilities, and they keep evolving to be more effective. If you buy an older or used drone, you might get one that doesn’t work.

4. Enhanced Visual and Video Drone Capabilities

Besides the specialty vision capabilities just now discussed, you want your drone to have the best visuals possible for regular, everyday use. You’ve probably seen the difference between clear security cameras and those that look like a grainy throwback to the 1970s.

Your drone visuals need to be clear so you can adequately observe whatever you’re looking at. Start by finding one with high resolution. You can find a good 4K or HD video drone that will do the job nicely, but they also have 6k and 8k video options.

It also needs a good stabilizer so the camera isn’t shaky, especially in windy situations. Look for one that includes a Gimbal system for stabilization so you can see everything smoothly.

Not all drones will stream the video live; some have recordings. You want to be able to see it in real time so you can adjust your survival strategy as needed. If, for any reason, you need to save the recording, you’ll want something with enough data storage to manage it.

For advanced use, you might even want to ensure it’s equipped with encrypted data transmission so that others can’t intercept and use the live stream to their benefit. But that may not be necessary in most situations.

5. Staying in Stealth Mode with Your Drone Surveillance

You may feel like using a drone is already operating in stealth mode. However, drones can be very loud and spotted quickly overhead. You must avoid detection regarding having the drone noticed in the first place and what happens afterward.

You want to ensure the undercover operations of your drone so that it doesn’t get damaged, such as having someone shoot it down. But you also want to protect yourself as the pilot from being discovered nearby.

Look for a drone with sound navigation. These are great for areas with poor sight because they allow the drone to avoid obstacles.

Next, you can focus on the drone’s noise level. The less expensive drones are usually going to be very noisy. But you can choose drones with propellers that are a bit larger and have fewer revolutions per minute (RPM) so that they’re not as loud.

Another thing you can do is fly higher so that the sound of your drone is not as prevalent to those nearby. There are even materials you can attach to your drone or choose to use special propellers that will be quieter during your mission.

Once someone spots your drone, the last thing you want them to do is be able to follow it back to where you are. Your drone has to come back to you, and it’s easy for someone to observe that if you don’t have any measures to prevent it.

By using encrypted communication channels, your drone won’t be at risk of being hacked and tracked. Although you can create routine flight patterns to browse your property’s perimeter, if you are routinely going outside of your property, you may want to vary your flight patterns so that they aren’t as predictable.

You may even want top-tier drones you use for reconnaissance missions with cheap decoy drones you won’t mind losing that you use to distract or mislead people who might want to follow it back to you.

If you routinely venture into a location and think someone will be tracking it back to your area, try to vary the flight pattern so that it returns to you in a different direction.

Make sure that you are far enough away that they may not be able to keep up with tracking it on foot by following it home. You must never put your supplies and your family at risk trying to recover a drone if you realize it’s being followed. It’s always best to lose the drone than to lead people to you as a target.

Read Next: 10 Ways to Use Drones for Survival Security Monitoring, Part 2

Let’s Hear From You! Have you bought a drone? If so, what are you using it for? Will you use your drone for survival purposes? Share your ideas, tips, or questions below! What are you doing to stay ready? Your insight might be precisely what another prepper needs.