From August 19 to 21, we ran our first Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) with Drones in Portugal — three days of practical, field-based training for professionals working in high-risk environments.
Who Joined
Participants came from some of the world's leading newsrooms, including The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, BBC, and News UK — including The Times and The Sunday Times.
What the Training Covered
Over three days, participants combined classroom instruction with hands-on field exercises covering:
- Risk assessment frameworks for high-risk assignments
- Tactical medicine, including the MARCH algorithm and tourniquet application
- Conduct and movement in dangerous areas
- Drone and FPV threat recognition and response, detection tools and techniques
- Live field simulations, including simulated FPV drone attacks and vehicle movement under fire
The training was delivered by Ukrainian instructors with direct field experience. A Ukrainian combat medic led the tactical medicine sessions, while our drone safety instructor took participants through real footage from the war, analyzing incidents from a drone operator's perspective before moving into live FPV simulation exercises.
The focus throughout was on practical skills that participants can apply when working in high-risk environments.
What Participants Said
The response was clear: participants rated the training 4.8 out of 5 on average, and 100% said they would recommend it to a colleague.
“A great mix of theory and practical exercises in the face of a serious and spreading threat.”
— Marcus Walker, Ukraine Editor, The Wall Street Journal
“This hands-on training, including its simulations of FPV drone attacks, was extremely useful and fun. I loved the fact that it was taught by Ukrainians and journalists with real life experience on the battlefield.”
— Anat Peled, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
“Relevant, realistic and well instructed. The team has first-hand, transferable knowledge that will save lives on a deployment.”
— Paul Richards, High Risk Advisor, BBC
For Richards, one of the key lessons was that preparation cannot be improvised in the field:
“It takes practice and a ‘team’ cannot just show up and expect to survive.”
Why This Matters
The risks journalists face are constantly evolving. Drone threats, in particular, are no longer a concern limited to reporters working in active conflict zones — they are becoming an increasingly important part of the risk picture in a wider range of environments.
Staying safe means treating safety training as an ongoing practice, not a one-time credential. That means regularly updating your knowledge, practicing core skills, and preparing to respond to new and emerging threats.
Join the Next Cohort
We're continuing to build practical, field-tested safety training for professionals working in high-risk environments.
The next HEAT with Drones training takes place November 12–14 in Portugal.
Read it: Drone Safety Training Gives Journalists Better Chances of Survival. Case study