Boats push through flooded streets, people wait on rooftops, and the water is up to the windowsill. A swarm of drones buzzes quietly above the disaster area, flying in formation over the rooftops, scanning the area, searching for people in distress, and transmitting images directly to the operations centre.

This is a scenario that could be a reality in future floods. During the Danube floods in 2024, it was already clear that the emergency services needed new tools to gain a faster and better overview of areas, and this is exactly where modern drone technology comes in.

‘Imagine a swarm of drones like a flock of birds that systematically searches an area, communicates and automatically recognises its surroundings,’ says Professor Gerhard Elsbacher, Head of the TTZ Unmanned Aerial Systems. The swarms that his centre is working on are intended to support disaster situations or searches for missing persons in the future.

The idea: many drones with a high level of automation replace individual manned flight systems or manually controlled drones. They shorten search times, provide live images, analyse the situation with the help of artificial intelligence, and do not require emergency personnel to control the drones. "We are talking about an interplay of highly developed technology - propulsion, navigation, communication, and interaction with humans. And particularly important: swarm coordination and intelligent control," explains Elsbacher.

Control technology - what sounds abstract at first has long since become part of everyday life: It ensures that heaters maintain a constant temperature or that cars stay on track when braking. In drones, it enables stable flight movements, even in windy and changing environments, and uses advanced AI methods to turn an entire swarm into a precisely coordinated system.

After completing his doctorate, Elsbacher worked intensively on the development of missile systems, which are very similar to drones in many respects. Initially at Airbus, later at MBDA Germany, where he worked for many years as an engineer and later as head of department, and finally as a member of the Executive Board responsible for development and production. One of his most important projects was the TAURUS missile, which is now also known to the general public. ‘I am fascinated when autonomous systems function reliably in difficult situations - and can help people in the process.’

The range of applications is wide: whether searching for missing persons, monitoring critical infrastructure, or quickly delivering medicines to inaccessible locations. Even without GPS - for example, in the event of radio interference or narrow city centres - modern systems find their way thanks to intelligent navigation.

What's more, the technology behind it is versatile. ‘Dual use - i.e., applications that can be used in both civilian and security-related areas - is becoming more important given the threat situation in Europe,’ says Elsbacher. What this means is that what saves lives during a flood operation may be just as urgently needed in other areas, whether it is protecting critical infrastructure or in the context of state security and defence tasks.

When a swarm of drones circles over an operational area in the future, it will be backed up by sophisticated technology developed with the following objectives in mind: To protect lives, reduce risks, and become capable of acting more quickly.