With wildfires increasingly plaguing the United States, innovative drone technology is stepping into the fray. This summer, drones designed to spray water and fire retardants have been actively tested in California and Alaska, showcasing their potential as rapid-response tools in firefighting.
While these drones are smaller than traditional crewed aircraft and have limited flight ranges, they are not intended to replace large airtankers. Instead, companies, fire agencies, and the organizers of the $11 million XPRIZE competition are exploring how these drones can assist firefighting crews in responding swiftly to smaller fires, potentially preventing them from escalating.
Field Tests in California
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as CAL FIRE, conducted a field test on July 15, deploying five autonomous drones that collectively released between 500 and 1,000 gallons of foam for fire suppression. This demonstration was facilitated by the nonprofit FireWERX and the California-based company Seneca, which plans to make its drones commercially available in 2026.
Seneca’s Argo-1 drones are capable of carrying approximately 100 pounds of water or fire retardant. When deployed in swarms of four to six, these drones autonomously navigate to their targets after a human operator inputs a GPS waypoint. Equipped with onboard sensors, they can detect the heat signature of a fire, determining the optimal altitude for hovering before sequentially spraying the fire.
Operational Limitations
Each fully loaded drone has a round trip limit of 10 miles, flying at an average speed of 30 miles per hour. This necessitates prepositioning the drones in fire-prone areas or transporting them via ground vehicles. Notably, the drones can fit into the back of a pickup truck, and two individuals can manually carry the empty units. Seneca aims for a quick turnaround, allowing firefighters to refill a returning drone’s payload and replace its battery in just two minutes.
Testing in Alaska
In a separate initiative, the XPRIZE Wildfire competition tested the Silvaguard autonomous firefighting drone system developed by Dryad Networks in June 2026, near Fairbanks, Alaska. This system integrates with Dryad’s Silvanet wildfire detection network, which employs solar-powered sensors to detect smoke from fires. Upon detection, a Silvaguard observation drone is dispatched to confirm and geolocate the fire using infrared and optical imaging sensors.
Once verified, a Silvaguard suppression drone can be deployed to release up to 26 gallons of fire suppressant. These drones can be stored in solar-powered hangar pods, ready for immediate action.
The effectiveness of these firefighting drones will ultimately be tested as fire agencies consider their deployment during the increasingly lengthy wildfire season. The Aspen Fire Protection District in Colorado has already committed to a $5 million contract for five of Seneca’s drones over five years, while CAL FIRE remains a significant potential customer, operating the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet.
This article was produced by NeonPulse.today using human and AI-assisted editorial processes, based on publicly available information. Content may be edited for clarity and style.
