Lyon, March 13, 2026
The Service Départemental Métropolitain d’Incendie et de Secours (SDMIS) has obtained authorization this week from the Direction de la Sécurité de l’Aviation Civile (DSAC) to operate autonomous drones in urban environments for rescue missions involving people who have fallen into the Rhône River. This decision marks a major milestone in the operational integration of drones within civil security operations.
Thanks to the technology developed by Uavia, these Parrot Uavia Inside drones can be deployed within seconds and supervised BVLOS (without a remote pilot) from the Call Processing Center (CTA). The drones can take off from the fire station and fly to the Rhône River to search for and track a person who has fallen into the water. The Uavia solution enables real-time transmission of images and information to the CTA as well as to firefighters in vehicles and on rescue boats.
“In situations where someone falls into the water, where the speed of response directly determines survival chances, this new collaborative capability provides a decisive operational advantage. It is a valuable tactical support for the teams managing the response,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Sébastien Pontet.
This authorization is the result of a working group bringing together SDMIS, DGAC, DSAE, DGSCGC, and Uavia.
“Beyond its immediate impact in Lyon, SDMIS is innovating with Uavia and the DGAC with the ambition of paving the way for the integration of autonomous drones into French emergency response doctrines and for the development of a regulatory framework adapted to rescue operations,” added the Lieutenant-Colonel.
“The collaboration between SDMIS and Uavia, supported by TotalEnergies and CNR, who have backed this project since its inception, demonstrates that autonomous drones can be operated safely, within a regulated framework, and fully integrated into the emergency command chain. This milestone illustrates how technological innovation, when properly controlled and deployed in the public interest, can sustainably transform the protection of citizens and help shape the future of rescue operations,” said Pierre Vilpoux, President of Uavia.