New Red Cross response vehicle
A unique lifesaving Land Rover Discovery has just entered active service with Austria’s Red Cross emergency response fleet. The bespoke Discovery will provide eyes in the sky with a special drone and go-anywhere wheels on the ground, as an emergency mobile command centre with the Red Cross disaster response teams. Developed from the original Project Hero concept car the Red Cross Discovery is the result of an 18- month collaboration between Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations and the Austrian Red Cross. The specially designed and engineered Discovery has the latest communications equipment, including an advanced eight- rotor drone. A long- range thermal imaging camera fit ted to the drone is capable of spotting a person from 440m and can identify a vehicle at almost 1,000m. The operator can also track objects found using the drone simply by tapping the item on the slide- out main computer touchscreens video feed and obtain precise co- ordinates – crucial when directing rescue efforts. The Discovery will operate as a mobile nerve centre for disaster emergencies from which Red Cross experts can direct rescue operations. Bespoke features include four radio antennae, 360- degree lighting and a unique integrated carbon fibre load space Command Centre, enabling Red Cross operatives to co- ordinate emergency responses as soon as they reach the scene of an emergency, day or night. Based on a 190kW 3.0- litre TD6 Land Rover Discovery, it allows emergency crews to reach remote disaster zones quickly in all conditions, then provide instant updates to improve response times and co- ordinate emergency planning. Land Rover’s close relationship with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies ( IFRC) began with the donation of a vehicle to be used as a mobile dispensary in the deserts of Dubai in 1954. Since then, Land Rover has donated more than 120 vehicles to the IFRC, helping the organisation improve the lives of vulnerable communities across the globe.