NASA and FAA team up to develop and test wildland fire technology

NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have established a Wildland Fire Airspace Operations research transition team to develop new technologies that will improve the way fires are monitored and managed from the air, especially under challenging conditions such as nighttime or heavy smoke when visibility is reduced.

Traditional aerial firefighting operations are limited to times when aircraft have clear visibility. Drones could overcome this limitation, but advanced airspace management technologies are needed to enable these uncrewed aircraft to stay safely separated and allow aircraft operators to maintain situational awareness during wildland fire management response operations, the agency says.

Over the next four years, NASA's Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project and FAA will work together to:

• Develop new airspace access and traffic management concepts and technologies to support wildland fire operations
• Develop new concepts for airspace access and traffic management tailored to the unique demands of wildland firefighting.
• Test and validate uncrewed aircraft technologies to ensure they meet the operational needs and safety standards required for firefighting.

By leveraging advanced technologies, this initiative will not only advance the state of emergency response operations but also pave the way for future advancements in unmanned aerial systems and their integration into complex airspace environments.