Airbus Firefighting System Networks Variety of Vehicles

Airbus is taking on the challenging problem of forest firefighting with a combination of interconnected aerial and ground assets, in an effort to improve water drop accuracy and reduce the time between detection and extinguishment of the fire. This effort is “in line with Airbus’ commitment to decarbonization and tackling the growing global challenge posed by forest fires,” according to the company.

At the Garrigues military camp in Nîmes, France, Airbus and its partners tested scenarios that were developed with Service Départemental d'Incendie et de Secours (SDIS) and Entente Valabre. The latter is a public body, which the French Ministry of the Interior has tasked to provide training and assess forest firefighting equipment.

The trial included Airbus’ H130 FlightLab helicopter, an ATR 72 test airplane, a Cirrus SR20, four drones, and three SDIS trucks for collecting and processing data. Two of the drones and the SR20 captured images and infrared footage of the fire area and sent it to Airbus servers connected to a truck-based command center. All of these assets were connected via Airbus’ Agnet mission-critical communication system, which was in turn connected to a local private mobile network bubble deployed by Airbus.

After analyzing the images, then geolocating them and merging them with other captured data, an AI-based processing system examined the terrain, wind strength and direction measured by a drone, and the location of firefighters on the ground. It then “produced a comprehensive view of the tactical situation on the ground and in the air, and enabled flight paths and water drop points to be transmitted to the helicopter equipped with a precision water drop assistance system and to the ATR 72, which was simulating a water bomber,” according to Airbus.

“This initial trial marks a significant milestone in Airbus’ efforts to develop a test environment and a comprehensive ecosystem for combating forest fires.”