Sikorsky has entered a five-year agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to develop and test autonomous aerial firefighting technologies for the S-70i Firehawk helicopter. The effort will focus on reducing pilot workload, improving situational awareness and expanding the ability of crews to operate in difficult wildfire conditions.

The program builds on demonstrations conducted in April, when Sikorsky and California-based Rain tested autonomy systems on an optionally piloted Black Hawk helicopter over staged burns in Southern California. Using MATRIX flight autonomy and Rain’s wildfire suppression planning software, the aircraft located brush piles, calculated suppression plans and executed water drops with limited pilot input.

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