Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has successfully led Exercise Nightfall, a large-scale, multi-agency operation designed to test new communications technologies under extreme conditions.

Held in Sydney’s west, the exercise simulated a major airliner crash during severe weather, bringing together emergency response teams from FRNSW, NSW State Emergency Service, NSW Rural Fire Service, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the NSW Telco Authority. The objective: to ensure seamless communication and coordination when standard networks fail during disasters such as bushfires, floods, or large structural incidents.

Participating teams deployed and tested advanced technologies, including:

• Vehicle as a Node (VaaN) — enabling multi-bearer failover across handheld devices including phones and radios.

• Live drone video streaming — delivering real-time situational awareness to command centres.

• Cells on Wheels (CoWs) — restoring or augmenting telecommunications when carrier networks are disrupted.

FRNSW’s international Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) specialists—some of whom were deployed to Türkiye following the 2023 earthquake—played a central role in evaluating these systems in realistic disaster environments.

The initiative, funded by the NSW Government, is part of a broader strategy to enhance the state’s emergency response capabilities through smarter, safer, and more connected technologies.