Since January 2026, EMSA’s Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) services have been deployed on ten different operations across 12 EU and EEA Member States.

The operations, which are taking place in parallel, directly support more than 20 national authorities, as well as the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), in activities like maritime safety (including search and rescue), maritime security, pollution monitoring and fisheries control.

As part of the EMSA- led Multipurpose Maritime Operation, our RPAS service supported Belgian and French authorities in La Manche and the Southern North Sea for multipurpose maritime surveillance and emissions monitoring.

RPAS regional deployments have also supported, or continue to support, Danish and Norwegian authorities in the North Sea; Finnish, Latvian, and Estonian authorities across the Northern Baltic Sea; Spanish and Portuguese authorities in the Atlantic region; German authorities in the North Sea; Cypriot authorities; and Icelandic authorities.

At the same time, three fisheries control patrol vessels chartered by EFCA have all been equipped with an RPAS service to assist the on-board inspection teams. RPAS systems are also on standby on board nine of EMSA’s chartered oil spill response vessels.

The RPAS service is offered free of charge by EMSA to Member State authorities executing coast guard functions for use in a wide range of maritime scenarios.

Find out more about RPAS at EMSA.