Director of the Reanimator design bureau (Stary Oskol), Mikhail Klimchuk, told RT about the enterprise’s readiness to launch production of the Dragonfly firefighting drone.
According to him, the UAV could become the first serial domestic drone of this type.
“The design stage of the drone has been completed.
We are starting to assemble the first copy of the Dragonfly and will present it to the general public this summer.
The helicopter-type model will have six electric propellers, which will hold the device at the desired height,” said Klimchuk.
According to RT’s interlocutor, “Dragonfly” will extinguish fire faster than rescuers in cases where Emergency Situations Ministry employees have to put a ladder to the window of a burning room or climb to a high floor.
According to Klimchuk, the Dragonfly will have a metal body, the diameter of the device will be 2.8 m, the weight will be about 40 kg, taking into account the fire hydrant and powder cylinders, which will be located under the bottom of the drone.
In addition, the Dragonfly will be equipped with an intelligent system to monitor the fire situation.
“The forks on which the propellers are installed will be telescopic, due to which you can reduce the diameter of the drone if you need to fly indoors and throw fire extinguishing powder onto the flames.
The glass in the window of a burning building will be broken by a special device provided in the Dragonfly design.
The drone will also be equipped with software, video cameras and gas sensors.
This will allow the operator to monitor the dynamics of the fire in real time and promptly receive data on air pollution,” Klimchuk noted.
In addition, as the director of the design bureau explained, the Dragonfly can be used to patrol the territory using an infrared camera.
“It is assumed that the Dragonfly will be installed on the roof of a fire truck along with a charger.
Thus, rescuers will be able to quickly launch a drone to the scene of an emergency.
Its range is about 10 km.
This allows the drone to patrol an urban area, detect fires, report them, drop powder on the fire if necessary, and then return to base to recharge.
In addition, “Dragonfly” can be used as a repeater for radio communications when extinguishing forest fires,” said Mikhail Klimchuk.
Operational approach
According to the director of the design bureau, the Dragonfly project was presented at the “Strong Ideas for New Times” forum, which was held in Moscow on February 19-20 by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and the Roscongress Foundation.
The presentation demonstrated at this event (available to RT) states that UAVs are needed in cases where firefighters are required to penetrate hard-to-reach locations.
Along with this, drones can increase the speed of response to fire.
Firefighting drone
© EHang
“The goal of the project is to save the lives of Emergency Situations Ministry employees, quickly respond to fires, and allow the drone to penetrate dangerous, hard-to-reach fire locations.
The use of AI (artificial intelligence -
RT
) and drone self-learning systems in order to develop its independent understanding of how to react to individual fire incidents,” the document says.
The presentation materials of KB "Reanimator" note that a wide range of equipment can be installed on the unmanned platform: a variety of cameras, sensors, drip extinguishing systems, means of supplying foam and other fire-fighting substances.
According to Klimchuk, “flying fire engines” can significantly increase the efficiency of firefighting and reduce the risk to the life and health of firefighters.
Experts interviewed by RT also believe that drones can significantly simplify and speed up the fight against fire in cities, industrial facilities and open areas.
At the same time, UAVs are especially in demand when extinguishing fires in multi-story buildings.
“Firefighting UAVs can really be useful.
Of course, they are not suitable for extinguishing large fires, but they will be indispensable for urgent fire extinguishing in high-rise buildings.
Only a drone can reach, for example, the 24th floor in a short time and put out a local fire.
Such an operational approach will prevent the spread of fire,” explained Sergei Musienko, a member of the Aeronet working group of the National Technological Expertise (NTI), in a conversation with RT.
As the expert said, at the moment a number of already operating domestic UAVs can be used to extinguish fires.
From the point of view of a specialist, the Aeromax unmanned helicopters SH-450 and SH-750 with a payload capacity of 100 and 300 kg, respectively, are adapted for this purpose.
“If necessary, these unmanned helicopters are equipped with specialized operator equipment, including the domestically produced Sfera fire-fighting module.
When dropped on a fire, the device is triggered, throwing fire extinguishing powder onto the flame,” Musienko said.
According to Aeromax, the SH-450 helicopter can stay in the air for up to six hours.
The device is well suited for use in hard-to-reach areas, unprepared sites and poor visibility.
The UAV can reach speeds of up to 150 km/h and rise to a height of up to 3.5 thousand m. Various equipment can be installed on the UAV: optical systems, transport and fire-fighting modules.
“The technologies embedded in the design make it possible to install almost any target equipment.
This variability makes the SH-450 effective for firefighting, search and rescue and monitoring operations, environmental assessments and cargo transportation,” says the Aeromax website.
Unmanned helicopters SH-450 and SH-750
© Aeromax
In turn, the SH-750 has a powerful power unit and a large fuel tank, which allows it to stay in the air for up to 5 hours and cover a distance of several hundred kilometers.
The cruising speed of the UAV is 120 km/h, the maximum is 200 km/h.
The device can be equipped with various equipment, including fire extinguishing systems.
Friendly Experience
KB "Reanimator" is not the only domestic company that is planning to launch the production of fire-fighting UAVs.
So, in December last year, JSC Infitech Corporation (St. Petersburg), which also claims to become the first serial manufacturer of this type of drones, announced plans to produce similar devices.
The company intends to launch the production of the Kaplya fire reconnaissance drone with a take-off weight of 7.2 kg and four devices - Liven, Perun, Groza and Burya - for direct fire fighting, which will differ in size and carrying capacity.
According to Sergei Musienko, when developing and putting into operation fire-fighting drones in Russia, it makes sense to pay attention to the experience of China, which has achieved significant progress in this area.
The expert called the EHang 216F one of the most successful devices, capable of effectively extinguishing fires in high-rise buildings.
Chinese fire fighting drone EHang 216F
© EHang
However, the expert has no doubt that Russian developers, including the Reanimator Design Bureau, will be able to launch the production of UAVs that are not inferior in quality to their foreign counterparts.
“From the point of view of fire extinguishing technology on board a UAV, Dragonfly uses a technology similar to that already tested in China.
This is guaranteed to reduce the number of possible problems during mass use.
We can definitely say that domestic developers are trying to increase their competencies in this area, and the Dragonfly project is an example of this,” Musienko explained.
In a conversation with RT, General Director of KB AviaNovations, Candidate of Technical Sciences Sergei Tovkach, also drew attention to the positive effect of integrating Chinese experience.
“In China, firefighting drones fire “missiles” filled with powder or carbon dioxide.
They are capable of breaking through glass and extinguishing flames quite successfully.
In any case, this method looks more effective than filling the apartment with foam or water, because carbon dioxide does not damage property.
Based on the experience of the People's Republic of China, we can conclude that a drone cannot always cope with a fire in a skyscraper alone.
However, its use will at least contain the spread of fire and give rescuers time to take the necessary measures,” the expert emphasized.
According to the specialist, in Russia there are no technological restrictions for the development of the fire-fighting drone sector.
The main obstacle to investment in the creation and production of this class of UAVs is legislation, which does not yet allow firefighters to use heavy drones in cities, says Tovkach.
“It is worth understanding that fire-fighting UAVs are relevant primarily in large cities with highly built-up areas.
In this regard, Moscow is the most promising metropolis in Russia in terms of the development of unmanned fire-fighting aircraft.
Flights over the capital and other cities of our country are now limited by law.
However, according to many experts, the number of administrative and legal barriers to their use will gradually decrease,” Tovkach concluded.