We recently heard from an interesting company Swissdrones that creates unmanned helicopters that are used for a variety of applications. With a stated range of 20 km (about 13 miles) and a payload of up to 45 kg (or about 100 pounds). This application was in a joint operation with the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) and was used to detect radiation.
As they describe it:
“The SwissDrones SDO 50 V2 helicopter drone was deployed in a joint operation with the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) to detect and measure radioactive particles. Watch the video to see SwissDrones in action and learn how it can be combined with traditional manned aircraft and ground vehicles to collect additional radiological information around critical sites and non-accessible areas.”