Successful Test For Firefighting Helo-Drone

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Lockheed Martin and Kaman Aerospace successfully tested an unmanned K-Max helicopter in simulated firefighting exercises, the companies said this week. During the demonstration, a small VTOL Indago quad-rotor drone effectively identified hot spots, and provided data to an operator who directed the unmanned helicopter to autonomously extinguish the flames. In one hour, the helicopter lifted and dropped more than 24,000 pounds of water onto a fire. “The unmanned K-Max and Indago aircraft can work to fight fires day and night, in all weather, reaching dangerous areas without risking a life,” said Dan Spoor, vice president of aviation and unmanned systems for Lockheed Martin.

The tests were conducted at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, New York, on Nov. 6. The field is the only FAA-approved drone-test site in the Northeast, operated by the Syracuse-based Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance. Kaman Aerospace, which builds the K-Max, has been working with Lockheed since 2007 to develop an autonomous version. The team has flown the autonomous K-Max more than 750 hours, and demonstrated capabilities to lift and deliver 6,000 pounds of cargo in sea-level operations. The goal of the program is to provide battlefield cargo resupply for the U.S. military.

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