The K-MAX unmanned helicopter drops water on a controlled fire in Rome, New York. Photo courtesy Lockheed Martin.

by Scott Kesselman

Lockheed Martin and Kaman Aerospace successfully demonstrated the firefighting capability of the unmanned K-MAX helicopter through 8 different demonstrations at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, New York.



With situational awareness support from the Indago quad rotor the K-MAX autonomously dipped water from a pond and used geo-referenced data from the Indago to drop 24,000 pounds of water on the fire in one hour.



The Indago used its electro-optic/infrared camera to detect hotspots and sent geo-referenced locations to a ground control operator who could then dispatch the K-MAX.



The unmanned helicopter’s multi-hook carousel, which can support a variety of attachments for a range of missions, carried a 500 gallon water bucket as the aircraft performed multiple firefighting functions including fire suppression, precision placement and building lines - a sequential dropping of water with multiple aircraft in front of a fire to prevent spread.



“The unmanned K-MAX and Indigo aircraft can work to fight fires day and night, in all weather, reaching dangerous areas without risking a life,” says Dan Spoor, vice president of aviation and unmanned systems at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training business. He also touted the K-MAX mission history in Afghanistan where the aircraft performed about 2000 missions in 33 months “successfully moving four and a half million pounds of cargo.”



“This demonstration signifies the potential for adapting proven unmanned systems and their advanced sensors and mission suites to augment manned firefighting operations, more than doubling the amount of time on station,” says Kaman Chairman, President and CEO Neal Keating.



The Department of the Interior was on hand for the demonstration and has shown interest in using the platform to fight fires as early as 2015.

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