Sikorsky, Rain test autonomous wildfire suppression in Southern California
HESPERIA, Calif. - Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, and wildfire technology firm Rain conducted live-fire tests in late April to demonstrate autonomous wildfire suppression using a modified Black Hawk helicopter equipped with Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy system and Rain’s mission planning software.
The tests, conducted in collaboration with the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, took place over burning brush piles in wildfire-prone terrain at 3,300 feet above sea level. Firefighters built and ignited the brush piles to allow the aircraft to locate and suppress them autonomously with water drops.
The Black Hawk helicopter, equipped with fly-by-wire controls, thermal imaging, and MATRIX flight autonomy, operated using commands from Rain’s tablet-based software. The system enabled the aircraft to navigate to a water source, hover for bucket filling, detect fires, calculate drop parameters including wind compensation, and release water at the optimal moment.
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Sikorsky Vice President Rich Benton said the integration gives incident commanders flexibility to select autonomy levels depending on the mission. "With this layered autonomy system… new features [can be added] as they experience improved flight safety gains and enhanced suppression functionality,” he said.
In total, the helicopter flew 24 hours during the two-week test period. A 324-gallon Bambi Bucket was used for water drops, drawing from a 189,000-gallon tank located nearby.
The tests also included joint operations with a crewed Orange County Fire Authority Sikorsky S-76, demonstrating communication interoperability between autonomous and piloted aircraft in a shared airspace.
"This technology is a powerful part of the ecosystem of advancing fire service technology that is answering the year-round fire seasons we’re facing throughout California," said San Bernardino County Fire Chief Dan Munsey. "Autonomous aircraft - both crewed and uncrewed -can increase flexibility and capacity…ultimately saving lives and property."
The demonstration marked the first live-fire test in California for the Rain-Sikorsky partnership and was observed by representatives from CAL FIRE, the U.S. Forest Service, and local fire agencies.
