VIDEO: “This as a military platform, we’ve borrowed this idea from the military, brought it over to the civilian side and used it for fire detection,” said Jeff Rasmussen, MMA unit chief and program manager.
The MMA unit has two airplanes outfitted with special infrared and color sensors that can take off and be over a wildland fire almost anywhere in Colorado in less than an hour.
“It’s really caught on and demand has skyrocketed,” Rasmussen said. “On a busy day, you know, both planes are going to be in the air. From request to when we’re wheels up is about 30 minutes.”
The primary mission of the program is detection, but it’s secondary mission is providing near real-time information to ground forces during initial attacks on wildfires.