Drones capable of spraying water and fire retardants were tested earlier this summer fighting wildfires in California and Alaska. climate change making wildfire season a nearly year-round risk for much of the United States.
Most drones are significantly smaller than manned aircraft and have a shorter flight range, which means they can’t replace large aerial tankers in delivering massive loads of water or other firefighting supplies to remote wildfires. But companies and fire agencies — along with organizers of the $11 million XPRIZE competition — are testing whether drones can help fire crews respond more quickly to small fires and put them out before they become more destructive.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as CAL FIRE, conducted its own field test on July 15 with five autonomous drones working together to deploy between 500 and 1,000 gallons of foam to fight fires. KPMH TV channel. The demonstration was organized with the help of the non-profit organization FireWERX and the California-based organization Seneca CompanyStarting from 2026, it offers drones for commercial use.
Each of Seneca’s Argo-1 drones can carry about 100 pounds of water or fire protection when working with four to six drones. After a human operator uploads a GPS waypoint, the autonomous drones fly toward their target and use onboard sensors to detect the fire’s heat signature. HeliOps Magazine informed. The drones then find the best flying height before falling into each line to spray the fire one after the other.
Fully loaded drones are limited to a 10-mile round trip while flying at an average speed of about 30 miles per hour, which means they ideally need to be deployed in fire-prone areas or transported by ground vehicle first. But each drone can fit in the back of a truck, and two people can carry empty drones by hand.
