UK’s MoD drone shows alert public to military training site risks

Say it with drone shows. That’s the method the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has adopted this summer in spreading its message about the considerable dangers of the public accessing land used for military training – including areas hosting fast-moving exercises that may involve live munitions. 

This weekend the MoD revealed it had commenced a series of informative drone shows under the theme “Respect the Range.” The nighttime aerial entertainment will double as public pedagogy for summertime vacation crowds about the risks walkers, riders, and avocational explorers face when they enter military training areas across the UK – whether they do so intentionally or unaware.

The initial performance was held August 16 in the Welsh port town of Tenby, which was chosen for its proximity to the UK military’s Castlemartin Training Area. The MoD says it’s planning to present the drone show in at least another half dozen popular vacation spots located near lands used for exercises before the summer is over. 

The MoD communique announcing the nocturnal public awareness campaign said the drone show is made up of 100 UAVs. Their shape shifting from holiday objects like a beach pail or running dog in to a tank, missile, or helicopter is intended “to show how quickly military training areas can change from calm surroundings to combat zones.” 

Read: SKYMAGIC offers backstage view of its dazzling drone shows

Though perhaps not quite rivalling the spectacular choreography of specialists like Dronisos or the UK’s SKYMAGIC  – which employ hundreds of craft amid fireworks and other visual effects during marquee celebrations  – the MoD promises its audiences the most “stunning aerial images” that a state-financed, increasingly pinched budget can provide.

The entertainment objective aside, the MoD says the drone show is designed to drive home the dangers that hundreds of people face every year across the UK when they access military training sites – particularly when exercises are underway. According to its announcement:

Recorded instances of the public dangerously accessing the UK Defence Training Estate totaled around 3,000 over the 12-month period from September 2021 to September 2022. Of these, almost 10% were classed as near-miss incidents… includ(ing) people walking across live firing ranges and areas set up for pyrotechnics and explosives, dogs running into areas of training activity, and people picking up military debris, all of which had the potential to cause a fatality or a life-changing injury.”

In holding its series of “Respect the Range” drone shows at strategically located UK summer holiday sites, the MoD says it hopes to teach vacationers, day trippers, and people residing near military exercise areas to adopt a series of precautionary habits before heading out. 

Read: Begging to differ with US ban, UK’s MoD buys DJI drones

Those include systematically checking training and live firing schedules before striking out; sticking to public paths, trails, and roads while on their journeys; and observing posted safety information – including red flags, signs, by-laws, and fencing blocks – while on military land.

“Our Armed Forces are central to protecting the UK’s interests, especially at a time of heightened tensions across the globe,” said Brigadier Jonathan Bartholomew, head of Overseas and Training Region and the Defence Training Estate for the MoD’s Defense Infrastructure Organization. “Through the Respect the Range safety campaign, we are asking the public to help us to keep them safe when accessing training land, as well as ensuring our Armed Forces can carry out their vital training uninterrupted.”