Black Hawk Tackles High-rise Blazes

The proliferation of high-rise buildings throughout the UAE has increased the challenges faced by emergency services in tackling blazes that could occur far above street level. One system that has considerable potential in this situation is the SkyCannon, a system developed by aerial firefighting experts Dart Aerospace.

SkyCannon was developed specifically for use in high-rise fire situations and has been adapted for use on the Airbus Helicopters H225, Avicopter AC313, and Sikorsky S-70/H-60. The latter is being tested by the UAE Joint Aviation Command aboard a UH-60L Black Hawk for potential use throughout the Emirates.

In the H-60 application, the system comprises an 850-gallon water tank and a 50-gallon foam tank. The water can be rapidly replenished from any body of water by a drop-down refill hose that pumps water into the tank, or it can be replenished from a fire truck. The whole standalone system can be installed or removed in around 30 minutes. However, it does require a “clean” helicopter with any weapon carriage systems removed.

There is a traditional gravity water drop system, but the SkyCannon’s main feature is a 25-foot cannon on the starboard side, with the nozzle outside of the main rotor disk to avoid rotor downwash. Deployed when in the hover, the cannon produces a directed low-pressure, high-volume jet of water out to 130 feet. Carried facing forward in transit for minimum drag, the cannon can be aimed across a 110-degree arc on the starboard side and can traverse downwards through 30 degrees of elevation.

First revealed at the IDEX show in Abu Dhabi last February, the UH-60L system has been under evaluation by the JAC for three years, and it has demonstrated its ability to cool down an area in preparation for the arrival of ground crews, in addition to directly attacking fires. The UAE plans to have a number of “clean” UH-60s stationed throughout the country, ready to be fitted with the SkyCannon.