ASPEN, Colo. - Seneca in Sausalito, Calif., announced a five-year, multimillion-dollar partnership with the Aspen Fire Protection District to deploy an autonomous wildfire suppression system in the wildland-urban interface. The agreement marks what the company describes as the first acquisition of a coordinated autonomous wildfire suppression system in the United States.
In summer 2026, Seneca plans to deliver a Seneca Strike Team that includes five autonomous suppression aircraft, a mobile operations base, and five years of software, connectivity, and maintenance support.
Each strike team has a capacity of about 500 gallons of finished foam per sortie. A single pilot can operate multiple aircraft using the system’s artificial intelligence and autonomous flight capabilities, the company said.
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Seneca said its system is designed to respond to ignitions in hard-to-reach areas, support night operations, help secure pile and prescribed burns, and transport equipment in complex terrain.
Aspen acquisition
The acquisition follows collaboration among Aspen Fire Protection District, the Aspen Fire Foundation, and local donors, including a family foundation that supported funding for the system. Over time, Aspen Fire and Seneca aim to deploy additional autonomous aerial response bases capable of launching within seconds of fire detection to address new ignitions earlier. Officials said expanded coverage could improve fire safety in the Roaring Fork Valley and potentially reduce insurance costs for residents and businesses.
"Aspen has a unique blend of high-risk terrain, exceptional collaboration across their valley, and a highly skilled and forward-thinking team," said Stuart Landesberg, founder and CEO of Seneca. "They understand the importance of modernizing wildfire response to safeguard communities across the American West. We are grateful for the trust of Chief Andersen and Aspen Fire Protection District."
"We are partnering with Seneca because this technology will help us save homes and save lives," said Chief Jake Andersen, fire chief and CEO of Aspen Fire. "Wildfires in our region are moving faster and growing more complex every year. Stu and the full Seneca team have listened to firefighters and built a system designed for the realities we face on the ground. This gives us another critical tool to protect our community before small starts become major incidents. We are grateful to the donors who partnered with Aspen Fire to make this possible, and we are proud to bring this capability to Aspen this summer."
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Seneca said it uses autonomous drone technology, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and operational feedback from firefighters and landowners to design systems intended to integrate with existing wildfire response practices.
According to the company, its systems are designed to be hand-carried, transported by utility vehicle, or stationed for remote deployment. The modular architecture is intended to support missions ranging from verifying and suppressing small fires in remote terrain to cold trailing operations on larger incidents.
