Sikorsky, Rain demonstrate wildfire mission autonomy

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, and Rain, a provider of autonomous aerial wildfire containment technology, successfully demonstrated how an autonomous Black Hawk helicopter can be commanded to take off, identify the location and size of a small fire and then accurately drop water to suppress the flames.

At Sikorsky headquarters in Stratford, Connecticut, the Rapid Wildfire Response Demonstration showcased the integration of Sikorsky’s MATRIX flight autonomy with Rain’s wildfire mission autonomy system to suppress a fire in its early stages.

Representatives from NASA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the Orange County Fire Authority and the philanthropic and impact investment community witnessed the demonstration as part of a two-day wildlands firefighting meeting to discuss autonomy.

During the 30-minute flight demonstration, guests used a tablet to command the Black Hawk aircraft to take off, search for and find the fire and then drop water from a Bambi Bucket slung 60 ft beneath the aircraft. Each of three successive water drops extinguished a 12-inch-diameter propane-fueled fire ring emitting a 3-to-6-inch-tall flame, demonstrating the precision of the Rain fire perception and targeting capability. The Rain system also rapidly adjusted the flight path to account for an 8-to-10-knot crosswind during each water drop. Sikorsky safety pilots in the Black Hawk cockpit monitored the flight controls but were hands-off until the aircraft landed.