Introduction: Drone applications become more and more common in our life meaning that in case of disaster management would not be a useless to investigate its effectiveness. Depending on different conditions, in expert view drone application can be effective or not effective. Since disaster managers suffer almost always from the lack of resources it is necessary to optimize them. Therefore, it is useful to study that at which assumptions drone applications are able to satisfy the requirements of the effective use. 

Methodology: This study based mostly on author’s own practices, collecting and analysing the experiences however in some cases economic analysis and logical conclusions also were used as well as picture analysis and simply mathematical phenomena. Of course, relevant literatures were also used. 

Results: Author found that in some cases like managing forest fires we can measure easily both the professional and the economical effectiveness of the drone applications, however in other cases like intervention at hazardous materials or managing flood only the professional one can be measured clearly. Moreover, in some special events like nuclear accidents there is no other option for the safe intervention than using unmanned systems like drone therefore measuring its economic effectiveness is not relevant.

Agoston Restas specializes in fighting against forest fires especially in economic analysis and the application of aerial equipment. He holds mechanical engineering, economist, and disaster manager degrees. In 2008 Restas made his PhD thesis at the Miklos Zrinyi National Defense University, Budapest, Hungary, titled “Research and development of the aerial reconnaissance and extinguishing of forest fires”. In 2013 Restas prepared his other PhD thesis at the Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary, titled “Decision-making of firefighting managers in emergencies”. Habilitation was also passed in 2015 at the National University of Public Service, Budapest, Hungary. 

Restas was a helicopter pilot in the Hungarian Air Defense, afterwards worked at the Ministry of Interior, National Directorate General for Disaster Management, Budapest, Hungary. Restas guided research projects at Szendro Fire Department regarding forest fire protection and suppression at the Aggtelek National Park. His fire department took small UAS in service as an everyday’s practice in 2006 definitely first all in the World among fire services. Besides the fire detection and intervention monitoring Restas focuses now on aerial firefighting and led an EU Horizon 2020 project called I4F technology. 

Restas is an associate professor working at the National University of Public Service, Budapest, Hungary, Institute of Disaster Management, Department of Fire Prevention and Rescue Control.