Sikorsky’s “Optionally Piloted” Black Hawk helicopter equipped with MATRIX and Rain autonomy systems during fire localization and targeting demos at Sikorsky HQ in Stratford, Connecticut.
Photo couresy of RAIN.aero
Rain.aero, a developer of aerial “wildfire containment technology” along with Sikorsky, have been for some time now researching wildfire suppression autonomous response possibilities. The companies completed test flights over a year ago with an “autonomous helicopter” that can carry and drop water onto wildfires in early stages of initial attack.
Rain — and Sikorsky — demonstrate early detection and fast response to wildfires, with an autonomous Black Hawk helicopter. The two companies have completed flight tests demonstrating how a helicopter flying with Sikorsky MATRIX and Rain’s “Wildfire Mission Autonomy System” could be quickly launched for initial attack.
The flight demonstration was at Sikorsky headquarters in Stratford, Connecticut, with the “Optionally Piloted Black Hawk helicopter” flying in autonomous mode with Sikorsky safety pilots on board.
“In 2023, in collaboration with Sikorsky, we set out to prove that we could receive an alert about a possible wildfire, send commands to launch and fly an autonomous helicopter capable of moving a large amount of suppressant to a fire’s location, and then command the helicopter to accurately drop water onto the fire,” said Rain CEO Maxwell Brodie. “We are very pleased with the results that successfully demonstrate autonomous early detection and rapid response.”
What do you think about these developments? Are you a helicopter pilot, or helitack, or hotshot or other ground crew member, or lead plane pilot or ATGS ?
I don’t know enough about the air show environment to have a first-hand opinion on pilot-free helicopters in any role on any fire. I first off can’t imagine where the pilot-free RC helicopters might even be sited (on public land? Large ranches checkerboarded with BLM 40s? Western states private timber holdings? federal or state agency land? Wilderness areas?) and how vandalism possibilities likelihoods (let alone pilot-skill vandals or cyberhacked outside operators) for pre-positioned rotorcraft of any kind (let alone a Sikorsky) might be mitigated or prevented or acted upon …