On Monday, 3 December 2012, Swiss Air-Rescue Rega put its new dispatch system into operation. The changeover to the new infrastructure went off without a hitch. The introduction of this new system represents a key milestone within the major project, REMICO (Rega Mission Control), which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014.

REMICO, a large-scale project lasting over four years, aims to replace the existing infrastructure with an integrated dispatch system with a modern radio network. This step was necessary as various parts of the old system had reached the end of their operational life and were becoming increasingly difficult to service or replace.

In an initial phase of the project, the fundamental infrastructure was modernised to provide a base for the new, state-of-the-art dispatch system. Over the last months, a provisional operations centre specially set up at the Rega Centre has served as a test and training environment. Finally, on 3 December 2012, the new dispatch system was put into operation, bringing the second project phase to a successful conclusion. In order that the entire transition goes off smoothly, the Operations Centre team will continue to work from the temporary facilities until spring 2013. During this time, the proper Rega Operations Centre will be modernised and equipped with the new workplaces.

Within the framework of REMICO, the alarm procedure is to be largely digitalised. The new interconnected systems will enable Rega’s flight coordinators to organise missions even more efficiently than before. In order to ensure that these optimised procedures are applied across the entire rescue process, in the final project phase, all 42 of Rega’s fixed radio transmitting stations are to be modernised by the end of 2014.

Overall, Rega is investing around CHF 21 million in the REMICO project.