IAI’s remotely-piloted Heron aircraft was mobilized to fight fires in the Jerusalem Hills

Heron

An IAI Heron remotely-piloted aircraft transmitted a real-time situational picture to the firefighters, using the CRISP secure internet communication link system, which uses artificial intelligence-related capabilities. IAI systems were used in the fight against the fires raging in and around the Jerusalem Hills. These systems were the only real-time imaging means by which it was possible to generate a complete situational picture on the night between Wednesday and Thursday this week. Based on information transmitted from the IAI aircraft, the firefighting aircraft were able to formulate their plan of action for flights on Thursday morning.

In addition, based on this imagery, Israel’s Home Front Command was able to build a picture of the locations and extent of the affected areas and direct the firefighting teams to specific conflagration locations.

The teams operated by the company transmitted imagery information to three Fire and Command Centers: two centers of the Fire and Rescue Service and one for Israel’s Home Front Command. They also monitored the centers of the blaze and mapped areas whether these were still burning or still smoking. This cleared the way for dropping fire-retardant chemicals from Air Force Super Hercules ‘Shimshon’ aircraft and contributed to verifying the distance between the advancing line-of-fire and inhabited areas, communities, villages, and townships.

IAI is currently participating in the XPRIZE Wildfire competition, presenting a unique solution to combat the devastating forest fires that have caused environmental damage and human casualties over the past decade. This capability includes the operation of autonomous drones synchronized with each other and equipped with dedicated, advanced electrooptical payloads that scan the environment and are able to detect fires at long ranges.

Caroline Haïat