Sikorsky’s Matrix autonomy suite is being tested with Rain’s wildfire mission autonomy system to launch uncrewed firefighting helicopters within minutes of fire detection. Rain will upload mission commands to an uncrewed Sikorsky Black Hawk.
Rain integrates with early wildfire detection networks to rapidly dispatch autonomous aircraft and significantly improve fire response times. The company has long advocated for pre-positioning autonomous aircraft in remote locations to mitigate wildfire risks with the ability to rapidly respond to ignitions in hard-to-access regions in varied terrain.
The Rain wildfire mission autonomy system onboard the aircraft identifies and locates wildfire, develops a suppression strategy, and plans flight path and drop timing to enable targeted suppressant. It shares intelligence and plans, providing firefighters with situational awareness and oversight throughout the mission to ensure safety and coordination.
“Matrix executes a full mission plan by taking into account mission goals and constraints, aircraft performance, obstacles, weather, and topography,” said Sikorsky Innovations director Igor Cherepinsky. “The system is fully integrated with the flight controls, allowing the aircraft to fly with high levels of autonomy in all environmental conditions.”
To date, Matrix has been tested on 10 different rotary and fixed-wing aircraft and can be applied to existing or new-build applications.