An emergency or disaster that involves or could involve radiation puts first responders at risk. They need tools to measure the levels and types of radiation to ensure their own safety and properly respond to the emergency. Radiation detectors mounted on unmanned systems have the potential to improve responder safety and reduce the amount of time and equipment and the number of responders needed for a given situation.

Use Cases for Collecting Radiation Measurements with Unmanned Systems

Angela Putney, Christopher Scott Adams, Ivan Lepetic, Augustine Bravo

ResearchPublished Aug 13, 2025

If an emergency or disaster involves or could involve radiation, first responders are in danger from something they cannot see or feel and need tools to measure the levels and types of radiation to ensure their own safety and properly respond to the emergency. Radiation detectors mounted on unmanned systems (UxSs) have the potential to aid first responders in such measurements and reduce the responders’ exposure to radiation. UxSs are relatively new tools that likely will improve responder safety and reduce the amount of time and equipment and the number of responders needed for a given situation.

In this report, the authors provide an overview of what might lead to a radiation emergency, the types of radiation first responders might encounter, radiation detectors and instruments, types of UxSs, and ways UxSs might be used. The appendixes address three potential use cases in more detail and are designed for responders to use before a radiation emergency to support selection, acquisition, training, and exercising of radiation-detection–enabled UxS platforms.

Key Findings

  • UxSs can be used in various radiation-detection use cases to support emergency preparedness and response
  • The 21 radiation-detection use cases we considered had six common characteristics: (1) pattern-based surveys of ambient radiation levels, (2) multiple radiation measurements in small areas, (3) directed measurements over larger areas, (4) repeated surveys over time, (5) radioisotope identification, and (6) physical sample collection.
  • The main factors in deciding the types of UxSs and radiation detectors are the details of the first responder organization’s area of operations.
  • The advantages of first responders using UxSs for radiation detection include the potential to increase personal safety and use resources more efficiently.
  • The disadvantages of first responders using UxSs for radiation detection include usage being limited by weather conditions, regulations, potentially short sortie times, connectivity problems between UxSs and operators, and insufficient integration of detectors and UxSs.

Recommendations

  • The most straightforward path toward a responder organization procuring a UxS radiation survey capability will be to purchase a system or combination of components (UxS and radiation detector or instrument) that the manufacturers have preidentified as being compatible.
  • Before expecting to use UxS systems to conduct radiation surveys during an emergency, it is essential that first responders evaluate whether the UxS can accomplish the objectives of the survey and whether conducting the survey is the best use for the UxS capability during an emergency.
  • It is also crucial to conduct training and exercises with the desired UxS configurations in environments and with scenarios that reflect real-life conditions to be encountered during an emergency.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Putney, Angela, Christopher Scott Adams, Ivan Lepetic, and Augustine Bravo, Use Cases for Collecting Radiation Measurements with Unmanned Systems. Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center operated by the RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3338-1.html.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

This research was sponsored by the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory in the Science and Technology Directorate and conducted in the Management, Technology & Capabilities Program of the RAND Homeland Security Research Division, which operates HSOAC.

This publication is part of the RAND research report series. Research reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND research reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.