Overview
- The Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz (BfS) and the Bundespolizei are carrying out joint helicopter test flights from Fliegerhorst Kaufbeuren to survey areas southwest of Augsburg.
- The flights, running from July 7 to 9, use low‑altitude (about 90 m) profiles between 08:00 and 17:00 to validate sensors, crew procedures and rapid data reporting.
- Teams say a helicopter can scan roughly 100 square kilometres in about three hours and deliver measurement results shortly after landing for operational decisions.
- Crews expect to detect only natural background radiation and residual cesium‑137 from the 1986 Chernobyl fallout in the chosen test area and report no acute hazard during the exercises.
- The drills sharpen a rare joint police–radiation response, complement Germany’s network of about 1,700 ground sensors and stored airborne units, and prepare authorities for possible cross‑border reactor incidents.