Parallel Flight Technologies has been granted an FAA 44807 exemption authorizing commercial operation of its Firefly heavy lift hybrid UAS in the United States for industrial missions. Read more: hubs.la/Q0458wkx0 @ParallelFlight

@FranticGoat's article in @thewarzonewire: twz.com/22395/a-swedish-air-… @NASA's XPRIZE Wildfire contest/initiative: xprize.org/news/meet-the-fut… esto.nasa.gov/firetech/ai-en… @Windracers's ULTRA cargo drones, which have also done good work in Ukraine; powered by two of the excellent 50-horsepower Hirth F23 dronelife.com/2024/09/26/dro… The FlameJackets team from Georgia Tech: techsquareatl.com/tech-squar… @ParallelFlight and their impressive hybrid-powered rotary-wing quadcopter cargo drones: youtube.com/watch?v=cido69oc… @harrisaerial and their hybrid-powered, multi-power option (!) hexacopter drone with the flight duration to carry the sensors to cue payload delivery platforms like the ones mentioned above: harrisaerial.com/carrier-dro…

I was doing research for my next novel (YNQ redux) and had a sudden thought - why has a BLU-82 and/or MOAB never been used to clear an LZ for wildland firefighters; either to extract them or to create an instant deployment site? Ten thousand reasons why that's dumb occurred to me instantly, but upon googling I found an article by the ever-esteemable @FranticGoat (one of the wonderful @thewarzonewire writers) detailing the Swedes successfully blowing out a spot fire with a 500 pound LJDAM back in 2020. Moreover, as Mr. Trevithick dug up, the (then) US Army Air Forces explored similar concepts after WWII; both blowing fires out like a candle with HE concussion bombs and making "water bombs" that'd air-burst and dispense their contents right above a fire. The downsides were accuracy; of course, but modern precision guidance tech solves that issue handily; and could create munitions that could A. saturate areas with water/flame retardant very precisely and B. punch right through the violent fire-driven wind fronts that make dropping loose flame retardant and/or fast-rope extraction of crews perilously close to a flame front infeasible. The obvious remaining limitation is opportunity-cost and timing; flame fronts over-running a crew happens fast, hence why they train to get in their shelters so fast, and keeping a precious air asset on the ground in reserve is infeasible; to say nothing of even a ten minute transit time possibly being too long given how fast a fire can change direction in bad conditions. Which brings us to drones. Obviously the innumerable new opportunities drones bring to the table here are being explored; usually aimed at exploiting their... "distributability?" and modern automation - without pilots being required your smallest possible aerial asset gets a lot smaller which offers the choice of three dozen drones versus four or five helos; so an entire new solution space opens up that's perfect for e.g. playing whack-a-mole with spot fires. Without pilots they're only as good as the automation is, hence things like NASA's swarm-enabled firefighting drone initiative (e.g. XPRIZE competition.) But what really grabs my attention is payload potential; companies like @Windracers are building sizable ICE powered fixed-wing cargo drones already (i.e. "everything you like about fixed-wing but smaller," aka "the R/C "models" we've had for 80 years but automated to do real work") but XPRIZE competitors like the FlameJackets (Georgia Tech students) are bringing ICE/fossil fuel power density to quadcopters too with hybrid power setups (ICE-powered generators driving modern electric motors and their insane power/weight ratios.) This matters because early helos using Internal Combustion Engines like the one in your car struggled to fly; modern birds use advanced - and painfully expensive - gas turbines to generate the awesome power/weight for heavy payloads. Gas-electric hybrids combine the immense energy density of gas, the simplicity and affordability of mature ICE powerplants and the excellent power/weight of modern electric motors to drone-scale rotary-wing applications; which opens up many more mission-sets (delivery/extraction, use of quadcopter thrust control for countering powerful wind gusts, more precise low-level payload drops etc.) And they're not the only ones; @ParallelFlight has a gas-electric hybrid that can sling 270lbs of payload for extended distances and durations, and @harrisaerial's H6 is a six-rotor gas-electric hybrid that can be converted to battery operation or even hydrogen fuel cell (!) within minutes. As Mr. Trevithick notes, Boeing filed a patent in 2014 for a flame-retardant delivering artillery shell - but artillery is expensive, high-precision engineering and delivers quite little payload per shot compared to air-delivered bombs; with the upside being it's available much more promptly and is much cheaper to operate than air platforms. With drones drastically bringing the cost of sorties down; and operable without scarce pilots and the need for large LZs; the potential for highly automated, highly precise air delivery of substantial payloads against forest fires that's resilient against the difficult conditions found near the flame front are close to hand. And yes, if you're wondering - all of the above has military implications as well. Links below:

Parallel Flight Technologies and Alpha Unmanned Systems unite to advance heavy-fuel propulsion for next-generation naval research. Read more: hubs.la/Q042rpgb0 @AlphaUnmannedS @ParallelFlight #unmanned #UAS #propulsion

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - @Material_HM, a Miami-based materials science startup, has raised a $7.1 million seed round led by @outlandervc and @HarpoonVentures. The company develops technology that enables energy storage to be printed directly into structural components, allowing batteries to conform to the shape of a device rather than forcing designs around rigid battery formats. The startup was founded by Gabe Elias, Christopher Reyes, PhD, and Miles Dotson. - Schaeffler, the German auto manufacturer, is planning to roll out hundreds of humanoids in their auto plants in partnership with Humanoid. - DHS Science and Technology Directorate has been testing the use of high-energy microwave and radio-frequency pulses to temporarily stop the engines of small watercraft. The prototype system was successfully demonstrated at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched a program office focused on UAS and C-UAS technology, enabling the procurement of these technologies for homeland security efforts. - @L3HarrisTech announced a proposed $1 billion investment from the United States Department of War to support expansion of solid rocket motor production capacity. - @JetZeroAero has raised $175 million in a Series B round. The startup is developing commercial all-wing aircraft designed to improve fuel efficiency and aerodynamics. - @PsiQuantum has partnered with Airbus to develop and evaluate applications of fault-tolerant quantum computing for the aerospace sector. - The Utah Division of Water Resources has launched the SNOWSCAPE project to advance winter storm science and improve the evaluation of cloud seeding across the state, in partnership with NSF NCAR Research Applications Laboratory (RAL), the University of Utah, the Utah Climate Center, and Rainmaker Technology Corporation. - Haiqu, the New York–based quantum computing startup, has raised an $11 million seed round. - @ParallelFlight has secured a credit investment from @leonidcapital. The La Selva, California–based startup develops heavy-lift UAS platforms for defense and civic applications, a capability that is increasingly critical for contested logistics. - Ares Armaments, the Australian C-UAS startup, has signed an MOU with Limitless Aeronautics, under which Limitless Aeronautics will handle U.S.-based manufacturing for Ares Armaments. - Industrial Mind has raised $1.2 million in a pre-seed round; the Bay Area startup develops AI agents for manufacturing. - Daniel Gwak has rejoined IQT as Chief Investment Officer. - Purple Rhombus, the attritable UAS startup, has secured an SBIR Phase III contract from AFWERX. - @WeAreHII has successfully tested its shipboard automated launch and recovery system, demonstrating autonomous deployment and recovery of a REMUS unmanned underwater vehicle. The capability supports safer operations and improved mission effectiveness in complex, austere, and high sea-state environments.

In this exclusive interview, CUAV News sat down with Craig Stevens, CEO of @ParallelFlight Technologies to learn how this company is revolutionizing drone propulsion systems to aid in naval missions. commercialuavnews.com/parall… #dronedelivery #heavyliftUAS #navy

【7時間飛行hVTOL貨物ドローン】 Parallel Flight Technologies（@ParallelFlight）社が投資家を募っていた際「note」にも記事化したハイブリッドドローン「Firefly」。NASA（@NASAglenn）の資金提供を受け、安全性と冗長性がテストされた後、米国防総省DIU（@DIU_x）NSICの支援を受ける。#ドローン

Commercial UAV News Staff Writer Juan Plaza states suggests that power innovations from companies like @ParallelFlight and @hylium_inc could “allow non-piloted aircraft to reach their full potential.” commercialuavnews.com/are-dr…

【ドローンの沿岸監視能力強化】 Areté（@AreteConnects）社は米海軍研究局（@USNavyResearch）との契約に基付きハイブリッドドローン（UAV）へのPILLSシステム統合でParallel Flight Technologies（@ParallelFlight）社と提携。#ドローン 《Partnership to Advance Tactical Maritime UAS Operations》unmannedsystemstechnology.co…

Areté & Parallel Flight Partner to Advance Tactical Maritime UAS Operations 🤝 hubs.la/Q02KLnJT0 #drones #UAS #LiDAR #maritime @ParallelFlight

Areté and Parallel Flight will collaborate to integrate the Firefly heavy-lift UAS with the PILLS LIDAR system for enhanced littoral surveillance. Read more 👇 hubs.la/Q02KLq3w0 #drones #UAS #LiDAR #maritime @ParallelFlight

A milestone flight to start off 2024! We are ramping up our testing and evaluation activities at #ParallelFlight. On our way to meeting various performance objectives, #Firefly recently executed a continuous 80-minute #hover with an 80 lb payload. Bit.ly/FireflyUAV80for80

Top 2023 drone industry stories, featuring @CambConsultants, @DroneDeliveryCa, @MannaAero, @zipline, @Wing, Speedbird Aero, ACSL, @Hy__Sky, @Honeywell_Aero, @Wingcopter, @ParallelFlight, @maxongroupus, @WhiteFoxDefense, D-Fend Solutions, and @skysafe. commercialuavnews.com/intern…

#ParallelFlight is pleased to announce the award of a $1M contract from National Security Innovation Capital, a program within the Defense Innovation Unit to support the advancement and expansion of our #longrange #UAS to address emerging #defense and commercial applications.

We're using the power of #drone #innovation to protect #biodiversity, build #climate resiliency, and benefit communities with our partners @Envico_technologies, @ParallelFlight , @WildlifeDrones1, @conservationx and @TheWCS 🧡 islandconservation.org/redef…

Leaders from @WhisperAero and @ParallelFlight weigh in on @NASA's decision to cancel the Electric Aircraft X-57 Project. commercialuavnews.com/regula…

You can scoop up shares of Parallel Flight Technologies at a 17.3% discount relative to their latest funding round Someone on StartEngine's new Marketplace is selling 643 shares at $19 apiece @ParallelFlight @StartEngineLA

Earlier this week, the @NoExtinctions team joined us at the #ParallelFlight HQ for a demo of the hardware and software we are developing for our joint aerial baiting initiative - to be deployed in 2024! To read more:bit.ly/3X4T2vE #conservation #uam #dronesforgood

#ParallelFlight just inked a #multimillion dollar #aircraft deal, with paid deposits, to India’s UAV Systems. Read all about this landmark agreement and Parallel Flight's continued #expansion at the link below! bit.ly/3ov40xJ

Innovation for the win! Island Conservation is delighted to announce a new partnership with @ParallelFlight that will revolutionize how we restore islands around the world. islandconservation.org/press…